TK  D.  H.  HILL  imA^ 

NORTH    C4iOUN>4    ST4TE    C0LLE6C 


%  f.<^' 


ENT0M0L06IC4L  COLLECTION 


•*ii 


This  book  may  be  kept  out  TWO  WEEKS 
ONLY,  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  FIVE 
CENTS  a  day  thereafter.  It  is  due  on  the 
day  indicated  below: 


JCT  2  0  1575 


50M— May-54— Form    3 


White's  Natural  History 
of  Selborne 


The  World's  Great  Books 


Committee  of  Selection 


Thomas  B.  Reed 

Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives 

Edward  Everett  Hale 

Author  of  The  Man 
Without  a  Country 


William  R.  Harper 

President  of  the 
University  of  Chicago 

Ainsworth  R.  SpofFord 


Of  the  Congressional 
Library 


Rossiter  Johnson 


Editor  of  Little  Classics  and  Editor-in-Chief  of  this  Series 


Aldine  Edition 


The  Natural  History 
of  Selborne 


By 

Gilbert  White 


With  a  Critical  and  Biographical  Introduction 
by  George  H.  Ellwanger 


Illustrated 


New  York 

D.  Appleton  and  Company 

1898 


Copyright,  1898, 
By  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


WHITE'S   "NATURAL    HISTORY   OF 
SELBORNE" 


"  To  view  the  leaves,  thin  dancers  upon  air, 
Go  eddying  round,  and  small  birds  how  they  fare  ; 
To  mark  the  structure  of  a  plant  or  tree, 
And  all  fair  things  of  earth,  how  fair  they  be." 

—  John  Woodvil. 

THE  stately  yew  that  casts  its  shade  in  the  old  church- 
yard at  Selborne  has  shed  its  leaves  full  many  a  year, 
and  the  swifts  have  returned  to  the  lichened  parish 
church  for  upwards  of  a  century,  since  Gilbert  White  gave  to 
the  world  his  volume  of  Natural  History.  And  like  the  yew 
that  remains  forever  green,  and  the  swallows  that  return  to 
dip  and  turn  upon  themselves  again,  his  fresh,  instructive 
chronicle  continues  to  delight  and  its  pages  to  unfold  an 
added  charm. 

It  has  long  been  enshrined  as  a  classic  on  the  library 
shelves ;  and,  while  its  subtle  attraction  has  been  found  diffi- 
cult to  analyze,  it  has  nevertheless  come  to  be  recognized  as 
one  of  the  immortal  books,  having  nature  as  its  theme,  —  one 
of  those  volumes  with  which  the  discerning  reader  can  ill 
afford  to  be  entirely  unfamiliar.  Indeed,  in  many  minds 
nature  is  more  or  less  synonymous  with  the  name  of  its 
author,  who  is  regarded  as  a  sort  of  corollary  and  supplement 
to  that  natural  world  with  which  he  stood  upon  such  intimate 
terms  of  relationship. 

A  book  on  nature,  it  has  been  said,  is  certain  to  attract 
readers  much  as  a  sportsman  attracts  attention  who  enters 
a  public  place  with  a  gun  upon  his  shoulder  or  a  string  of  fish 
in  his  hand.  Yet  books  on  nature,  after  all,  are  no  exception 
in  their  lasting  qualities  to  those  on  numerous  other  subjects, 

iii 


IV  WHITE'S   SELBORNE 

their  p^ermanence  depending  upon  the  man  rather  than  upon 
the  topic.  Or,  as  Martial  has  recorded,  "  the  immortality  of 
a  book  depends  upon  its  having  a  genius  of  its  own." 

The  name  of  Gilbert  White  at  once  brings  up  a  vision  of 
pastoral  sights  and  sounds,  —  the  dancing  shade  of  cool  beechen 
groves,  the  crink  of  field-crickets  and  music  of  echoes,  the 
minstrelsy  of  birds,  and  the  airy  rush  of  himndines  over 
glassy  meres.  And  still  it  is  a  question  whether  White  is 
read  as  widely  as  is  usually  supposed,  despite  the  multiplicity 
of  editions  that  have  succeeded  the  editio  princeps.  By  the 
"  general  reader  "  he  is  undoubtedly  far  better  known  through 
those  who  have  written  concerning  him  than  from  a  perusal 
of  his  own  writings.  For,  though  his  letters  are  packed  with 
information,  the  greater  part  of  which  holds  as  true  to-day  as 
it  did  a  century  since,  and  though  they  have  lost  none  of 
their  scholastic  flavor  with  the  lapse  of  years,  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  the  average  person  who  is  not  interested  in  ornith- 
ology, entomology,  and  botany  is  to  a  large  extent  unac- 
quainted with  him  save  by  reputation,  or  at  most  by  a  hasty 
dip  into  his  register.  And  yet  he  is  to  be  enjoyed  by  the 
layman  almost  equally  as  well  as  by  the  naturalist;  for  so 
simple,  yet  engaging,  is  his  style  that  he  who  runs  may  read 
with  eminent  profit  and  pleasure. 

Not  unmindful  of  the  "Idyllia"  of  Theocritus  and  the 
"Georgics"  of  Virgil,  together  with  the  works  of  other  nat- 
ure writers  who  have  preceded  him,  we  may  term  him  the 
founder  of  the  nature  school,  or  school  of  close  observance 
and  minute  analysis.  No  one  who  has  succeeded  him  has 
been  more  precise  and  fluent  in  recording  the  movements 
of  the  feathered  tribes,  or  in  placing  his  observations  more 
vividly  before  the  reader.  He  was  sufficient  of  a  scientist  to 
receive  through  science  a  valuable  aid  in  his  investigations, 
though  his  natural  receptivity  and  perceptivity,  as  distin- 
guished from  mere  scientific  accomplishments,  count  for  the 
major  share  in  the  work  which  has  immortalized  his  name. 

Nor  are  his  terse  and  graceful  diction,  his  quiet  humor,  and 
apt  citation  a  less  conspicuous  factor  in  the  charm  of  his 
chronicle,  through  whose  leaves  filters  the  sunlight  of 
Hampshire  fields   and   flicker   the   shadows   of    Hampshire 


WHITE'S   SELBORNE  V 

groves.  One  wonders  at  first  sight  how,  with  one  eye  upon 
his  parochial  flock,  he  could  use  the  other  to  so  great  an 
extent  in  connection  with  his  varied  charges  of  the  natural 
world ;  or  how,  watching  the  migrants  as  closely  as  he  did, 
he  could  find  time  to  stroke  his  parlor  cat  and  attend  his 
weekly  concert  "of  a  first  and  second  fiddle."  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the  series  of  epistles  addressed 
to  Thomas  Pennant  and  the  Hon.  Daines  Harrington,  in 
which  his  observations  are  recorded,  extend  over  a  period  of 
more  than  twenty  years ;  while  in  his  ninety-first  letter,  under 
date  of  May  7th,  1779,  he  says  that  it  was  then  more  than 
forty  years  that  he  had  paid  some  attention  to  the  ornithol- 
ogy of  the  district  without  being  able  to  exhaust  the  subject, 
new  occurrences  still  arising  as  long  as  any  inquiries  were 
kept  alive.  That  he  did  not  originally  contemplate  a  book, 
but  that  his  letters  gradually  grew  into  a  volume,  might  be 
presumed  from  the  fact  that  no  dates  are  attached  to  his  first 
nine  epistles.  On  the  other  hand,  eleven  of  his  latest  letters 
are  also  without  chronological  record,  the  concluding  one, 
however,  being  dated  June  25th,  1787,  the  first  dated  epistle 
being  that  of  August  4th,  1767. 

The  traveler  who  is  hurried  by  on  the  southwestern  ex- 
press, in  journeying  from  Southampton  to  London,  obtains 
a  glimpse  of  the  beauties  of  Hampshire,  within  whose  confines 
Selborne  lies  secluded,  —  its  red-tiled  cottages  and  smiling 
flower  gardens,  its  ancestral  trees  and  halls,  its  graceful  church 
spires,  and  well-tilled  fields  and  verdant  meadows,  which  greet 
him  on  every  side.  But  in  order  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  true  character  of  a  country,  —  especially  a  country  like 
England,  so  rich  in  historical  monuments  and  associations,  — 
one  must  often  leave  the  beaten  highway  and  seek  the  less 
trodden  paths.  And  to  understand  the  "  Natural  History  of 
Selborne,"  it  is  necessary  to  be  familiar  with  the  place  which 
was  its  genesis  and  inspiration,  as  well  as  to  acquaint  oneself, 
so  far  as  may  be,  with  the  character  and  life  of  its  author. 

Gilbert  White  was  born  July  i8th,  1720,  at  Selborne, 
and  died,  aged  seventy-two  years  and  eleven  months,  on 
June  26th,  1793.  He  received  his  early  education  at  Ba- 
singstoke, and  afterwards  went  to  Oxford  to  become  Fellow 


VI  WHITE'S   SELBORNE 

of  Oriel  and  one  of  the  senior  Proctors  of  the  University. 
But  the  beauties  of  the  country  proved  for  him  a  stronger 
magnet  than  the  more  intellectual  atmosphere  of  the  town, 
and  he  soon  returned  to  the  place  of  his  birth  and  his  beloved 
Hampshire  hills.  Here  he  became  curate,  also  officiating  as 
curate  of  Faringdon  eighteen  years,  his  leisure  time  being 
devoted  to  his  favorite  pursuit. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that,  apart  from  what  is  revealed 
through  his  writings,  so  little  is  known  of  the  man  himself, 
few  anecdotes  or  reminiscences  of  his  private  life  having  sur- 
vived him.  It  is  known,  nevertheless,  that  he  was  a  person 
of  retiring  manners,  beloved  by  his  parishioners  and  children, 
and,  despite  the  engrossing  nature  of  his  occupations,  not 
averse  to  a  good  table  and  creature  comforts.  That  he  was 
fond  of  field  sports  during  his  earlier  years  is  apparent  from 
the  references  to  sport  in  several  of  his  letters,  from  the  dates 
of  which  it  is  clear  that  he  gave  up  this  pastime  when  com- 
paratively young,  doubtless  on  account  of  its  interference  with 
his  chosen  studies.^  He  has  been  referred  to  as  "the  Addi- 
son of  Natural  History,"  and  "a.  clergyman  without  having 
any  duties  to  perform."  His  chronicle,  in  truth,  would  seem 
to  be  a  case  of  "retired  leisure,"  —  a  product  or  outcome  of 
the  most  leisurely  mental  activity.  Like  the  country  parson 
of  "  The  Deserted  Village  "  — 

"  A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  dear, 
And  passing  rich  with  forty  pounds  a  year ; 
Remote  from  towns  he  ran  his  godly  race, 
Nor  e'er  had  changed,  nor  wished  to  change,  his  place." 

One  pictures  him,  in  imagination,  with  his  pale  Malacca 
walking-stick  and  knee-breeches,  sauntering  through  the 
winding  path  to  Long  Lythe,  studying  the  cause  of  the 
smoky  atmosphere ;  or  treading  the  sheep-walks  in  quest 
of  some  new  butterfly,  pausing  perhaps  to  hold  communion 
with  a  favorite  echo  which  returns  him  his  quotations  from 
Ovid,  Virgil,  and  Lucretius.  Or,  mayhap,  aglow  with  ex- 
citement, he  is  contemplating  the  stately  march  of  that 
rara  avis,  the  hoopoe,  feeding  near  his  garden;  or,  with  ear 

1  Letters  XVI.,  XLII.,  XLVI. 


WHITE'S   SELBORNE  Vli 

alert,  is  listening  to  the  mysterious  humming  as  of  bees  in 
the  air,  which  follows  him  from  the  Money  Dells  to  his 
avenue  gate,  though  not  one  insect  is  to  be  seen.  Perchance 
from  his  eyry,  beneath  the  beeches  of  the  Hanger,  he  is 
watching  a  file  of  rooks  wending  their  way  to  the  Tisted 
Woods ;  or,  threading  a  rocky  lane,  he  stoops  to  admire  the 
lovely  fronds  of  the  hart's-tongue  fern.  Or,  amid  the  gloam- 
ing of  a  bland  midsummer's  evening,  one  fancies  him  strolling 
to  the  Plestor,  where  he  may  trace  the  graceful  wheels  of  the 
churn-owl,  hawking  round  the  giant  oak  in  pursuit  of  fern- 
chafers,  yet  ever  most  intent  in  observing  the  migrants,  and 
in  following  swift  and  swallow  as  they 

"  in  rapid,  giddy  ring, 
Dash  round  the  steeple,  unsubdued  of  wing." 

The  grasshopper-lark  sounds  his  sibilous  whisper,  and  the 
smallest  willow-wren  his  shivering  noise  in  the  tops  of  tall 
woods,  and  he  is  there  to  hear ;  the  lesser  whitethroat  comes 
to  probe  the  nectaries  of  his  crown-imperials,  and  he  is  pres- 
ent to  perceive.  He  turns  over  on  his  pillow  at  night  to 
mark  the  stone-curlews  uttering  their  short,  quick  note  while 
passing  overhead,  a  watchword  that  they  may  not  stray  and 
lose  their  companions.  He  knew  the  habits,  haunts,  and 
food  of  every  feathered  inhabitant  of  his  parish,  from  the 
bustard,  the  largest  British  land  fowl,  to  the  golden-crested 
wren,  the  smallest  of  the  British  avifauna.  The  sight  or  call 
of  some  strange  visitant,  like  the  stilted  plover,  was  to  him  as 
the  draught  of  some  marvelous  vintage,  or  the  ecstasy  of  the 
collector  who  discovers  a  hidden  Raphael  or  Rembrandt.  He 
had,  moreover,  a  retinue  of  boys  —  of  whom  there  were  a 
goodly  number  in  the  village  —  at  his  constant  beck  and  call, 
to  climb  trees  for  him  in  search  of  the  birds'  nests  and  eggs 
he  coveted,  as  well  as  to  destroy  the  wasps'  nests,  the  denizens 
of  which  devoured  the  produce  of  his  garden. 

"The  parish  I  live  in,"  he  says,  "is  a  very  abrupt,  uneven 
country,  full  of  hills  and  woods,  and  therefore  full  of  birds." 
In  close  proximity  are  the  Sussex  Downs,  the  climate  is  tem- 
pered by  the  near  vicinity  of  the  sea,  while  numerous  streams 

contribute  to 

"  the  chalky  Wey  that  rolls  a  milky  wave." 


viii  WHITE'S   SELBORNE 

He  further  describes  it  as  an  anathoth,  —  a  place  of  responses 
or  echoes.^ 

Its  climate  a  century  ago,  notwithstanding,  must  have  been 
very  variable,  inasmuch  as  he  places  the  flowering  of  the 
hawthorn  as  occurring  in  different  years,  from  1768  to  1793, 
upon  dates  as  widely  apart  as  April  twentieth  and  June 
eleventh ;  the  first  appearance  of  the  orange-tip  butterfly 
from  March  thirteenth  to  May  nineteenth,  and  the  gleam  of 
the  first  glowworm's  evening  lamp  from  May  first  to  the 
second  week  of  June.  A  perfect  type  of  English  woodland 
scenery,  the  outline  of  the  parish  where  nearly  all  his  obser- 
vations were  made,  comprised  not  less  than  thirty  miles.  Sel- 
borne  is  still  shut  off  from  the  railway  and  the  fret  of  the  much- 
traveled  highway,  being  nearly  five  miles  distant  from  the 
nearest  railway  connection,  Liss,  on  the  one  hand,  and  from 
Alton  on  the  other.  The  village  is  sheltered  and  protected 
from  the  westerly  winds  by  the  Hanger  ("hanger  "  being  the 
old  Saxon  term  for  "wood"),  —  a  very  steep  acclivity  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  in  length,  the  elbow  of  a  chain  of  long  hills, 
forming  the  northern  slope  of  Selborne  Hill,  three  hundred 
feet  higher  than  the  village.  Besides  the  original  ascent 
termed  the  Zigzag,  White  had  a  road  constructed  called  the 
Bostal,  —  his  favorite  walk,  —  leading  to  the  heights,  where 
he  and  his  friends  were  wont  to  repair  to  drink  tea  of  a 
pleasant  summer's  evening.  The  summit  commands  a  fine 
view  of  the  South  Downs,  and  is  the  "beech-grown  hill" 
and  "  romantic  spot "  so  poetically  alluded  to  in  "  The  Invi- 

..."  whence  in  prospect  lies 
Whate'er  of  landscape  charms  our  feasting  eyes  ; 
The  pointed  spire,  the  hall,  the  pasture-plain, 
The  russet  fallow  and  the  golden  grain ; 
The  breezy  lake  that  sheds  a  gleaming  light, 
'Til  all  the  fading  picture  fails  the  sight." 

The  old  rocky  hollow  lanes  that  are  frequently  referred  to, 
the  one  communicating  with  Alton  and  the  other  with  the 

1  In  a  district  so  diversified  as  this,  so  full  of  hollow  vales  and  hanging  woods, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  echoes  should  abound.  Many  we  have  discovered  that  return 
the  cry  of  a  pack  of  dogs,  the  notes  of  a  hunting-horn,  a  tunable  ring  of  bells,  or 
the  melody  of  birds,  very  agreeably.  —  Letier  LXXX. 


WHITE'S   SELBORNE  IX 

Forest,  which  even  then  were  dangerous  in  winter,  are  now 
entirely  closed  to  traffic,  and  impassable,  as  also  are  those  on 
the  other  side  of  the  village  leading  to  Liss  and  Petersfield. 
These,  the  aboriginal  paths,  gradually  sank  into  the  soil,  the 
rains  and  freshets  seeking  them  for  their  channels,  and  the 
frosts  undermining  them  year  by  year.  The  bindweed  and 
other  trailing  plants  set  foot  upon  their  banks  ;  gradually 
they  became  enclosed  by  vegetation,  and  in  their  cloistered 
gloom  rare  plants  and  innumerable  forms  of  wild  life  sought 
seclusion. 

A  short  distance  from  Selborne  is  Wolmer  Forest,  a  fre- 
quent haunt  of  the  naturalist,  —  a  wild  region,  seven  miles  in 
length  by  two  and  a  half  in  width,  abounding  with  bogs, 
fern,  and  heath,  and  containing  three  considerable  meres  or 
ponds,  —  the  home  of  many  curious  plants  and  insects,  and 
a  chosen  harbor  of  wild  fowl.  The  retreat  of  duck  and  teal, 
dabchicks  and  water-hens,  snipe,  pheasants,  and  foxes,  it 
afforded  the  Selborne  curate  "  much  entertainment  as  a 
sportsman  and  naturalist."  During  White's  time  this  area  — 
the  name  of  which  is  misleading,  for  the  "  forest "  was  more 
like  a  fen  —  consisted  entirely  of  sand,  without  a  standing 
tree  in  its  whole  extent,  but  studded  with  extensive  marshes 
and  meres.  This  anciently  formed  part  of  the  Anderida  Silva 
of  the  Romans,  extending  from  Kent,  across  Sussex,  into  the 
borders  of  Hampshire.  It  has  been  Crown  property  from  a 
date  before  the  Conquest,  and  was  one  of  the  favorite  hunt- 
ing-grounds of  the  Plantagenet  kings.  Recently,  the  Guild- 
ford Natural  History  Society  has  advanced  a  proposal  to 
the  Department  of  Woods  and  Forests  that  Wolmer  be 
reserved  as  a  sanctuary  for  wild  birds,  in  which  they,  their 
nests,  and  eggs  may  remain  unmolested  throughout  the  year. 
Latterly  the  waters  of  Wolmer  have  shrunk,  and  much  of  its 
former  wastes  are  now  covered  with  plantations  of  pine  and 
oak. 

This  region,  with  the  immediate  environment  of  Selborne 
village,  together  with  an  occasional  excursion  to  points  some- 
what more  remote,  was  his  principal  field  of  observation. 
The  Sussex  Chalk  Downs  he  also  visited  annually  for  upwards 
of  thirty  years,  viewing  their  shapely  figured  aspect  with  fresh 


X  WHITE'S    SELBORNE 

admiration  year  by  year.^  How  well  he  improved  his  oppor- 
tunities, a  perusal  of  any  one  of  his  letters  will  amply  attest. 
But  the  opportune  occasion  and  his  inherent  qualities  as  a 
naturalist  would  have  figured  but  little  in  the  wonderfully 
interesting  record  he  has  left,  were  it  not  for  his  swift  infer- 
ence, his  unflagging  patience,  and  the  graphic,  pleasing  style 
in  which  his  facts  are  chronicled.  To  those  who  dwell  amid 
rural  surroundings  all  their  lives  without  making  an  observa- 
tion about  nature,  his  volume  is  a  school,  from  which  the 
veriest  tyro  may  learn  to  regard  and  record,  nearly  every  one 
having  about  him  a  fertile  mine  to  be  explored  if  he  but  set 
about  it  in  the  right  way. 

Analogous  reasoning  served  White  but  rarely ;  his  facts 
are  taken  at  first  hand,  or,  as  he  himself  says,  from  the  sub- 
ject itself,  and  not  from  the  writings  of  others.  His  eye 
was  as  keen  as  Thoreau's  and  Jefferies's,  although  he  lacked 
the  vivid  imaginative  sense  of  the  Walden  recluse,  and  the 
intensely  artistic  feeling  of  the  great  essayist  of  the  Wiltshire 
Downs.  His  modesty  withal  was  on  a  par  with  his  wondrous 
patience,  as  was  equally  his  spirit  of  contentment  with  his  lot 
in  life.  His  studies  of  echoes  and  honey-dews,  of  wasps  and 
bees,  of  fogs  and  mists,  of  crickets  and  field-mice,  of  frosts 
and  meteors,  of  cobwebs  and  aphides  —  all  have  a  peculiar 
charm  as  presented  on  his  classic  page ;  while  his  "  Natural- 
ist's Calendar,"  compiled  jointly  with  William  Markwick, 
which  records  the  earliest  and  the  latest  times  in  which  the 
circumstances  noted  were  observed,  is  almost  a  natural  his- 
tory in  itself. 

But  the  birds  were  his  favorite  topic,  whose  habits  he 
never  tired  of  investigating.  It  was  his  opinion  that  a  good 
ornithologist  should  be  able  to  distinguish  these  by  their  air 

^  Perhaps  I  may  be  singular  in  my  opinion,  and  not  so  happy  as  to  convey  to 
you  the  same  idea,  but  I  never  contemplate  these  mountains  without  thinking  I 
perceive  somewhat  analogous  to  growth  in  their  gentle  swellings  and  smooth 
fungus-like  protuberances,  their  fluted  sides,  and  regular  hollows  and  slopes  that 
carry  at  once  the  air  of  vegetative  dilatation  and  expansion.  Or  was  there  ever 
a  time  when  these  immense  masses  of  calcareous  matter  were  thrown  into  fer- 
mentation by  some  adventitious  moisture;  were  raised  and  leavened  into  such 
shapes  by  some  plastic  power;  and  so  made  to  swell  and  heave  their  broad  backs 
into  the  sky  so  much  above  the  less  animated  clay  of  the  wild  below  ?  —  Letter  L  VI. 


WHITE'S   SELBORNE  xi 

as  well  as  by  their  colors  and  shape,  on  the  ground  as  well  as 
on  the  wing,  and  in  the  bush  as  well  as  in  the  hand.^  Many 
of  the  numerous  species  of  the  songsters  which  he  de- 
scribes are  already  more  or  less  familiar  to  the  reader  through 
the  poets  ;  as  the  nightingale,  redbreast,  blackcap,  linnet, 
ouzel,  wren,  and  starling ;  the  blackbird,  or  merle  ;  the  thrush, 
or  mavis  ;  the  ring-dove,  or  cushat ;  the  skylark,  "  messenger 
of  morn  ;  "  the  cuckoo,  "  darling  of  the  spring  ;  "  the  missel- 
thrush,  or  stormcock,  which  loves  to  sing  in  wind  and  rain ; 
and  the  chaffinch  and  yellowhammer,  beloved  by  Jefferies.^ 

Numerous  other  birds  which  he  describes,  on  the  contrary, 
are  strangers  to  one  not  versed  in  British  ornithology ;  as, 
for  instance,  the  chiff-chaff,  hedge-sparrow,  fieldfare,  titlark, 
sedge-warbler,  willow-lark,  stone-chat,  whin-chat,  redstart,  and 
wryneck,  as  well  as  the  marsh-titmouse,  with  his  two  quaint 
notes  "like  the  whetting  of  a  saw"  ;  and  that  "delicate  poly- 
glot," the  sedge-bird,  with  his  medley  of  notes  resembling  the 
songs  of  other  birds.  Among  strange  birds  may  also  be  enu- 
merated the  nut-hatch,  which  he  could  hear  a  furlong  or  more 
off;  the  stone-curlew,  whose  clamor  was  audible  to  him  at  the 
distance  of  a  mile ;  the  smallest  uncrested  willow-wren,  which 
utters  two  sharp,  piercing  notes  so  loud  in  hollow  woods  as  to 
occasion  an  echo ;  and  the  grasshopper-lark,  chirping  all 
night. 

He  early  discovered  that  all  species  whose  habit  it  is  to 
continue  in  full  song  until  after  midsummer,  which  Thoreau 
characterizes  as  "the  poets  and  true  singers,"  breed  more 

1  Letter  LXXXIV. 

2  The  yellowhammer  is  almost  the  longest  of  all  the  singers.  In  the  spring  he 
sings,  in  the  summer  he  sings,  and  he  continues  when  the  last  sheaves  are  being 
carried  from  the  wheat-field.  .  .  .  The  yellowhammer  is  the  most  persistent  indi- 
vidually, but  I  think  the  blackbirds  when  listened  to  are  the  masters  of  the  fields. 
Before  one  can  finish  another  begins,  like  the  summer  ripples  succeeding  behind 
each  other,  so  that  the  melodious  sound  merely  changes  its  position.  Now  here, 
now  in  the  corner,  then  across  the  field,  again  in  the  distant  copse,  where  it  seems 
about  to  sink,  when  it  rises  again  almost  at  hand.  Like  a  great  human  artist,  the 
blackbird  makes  no  effort,  being  fully  conscious  that  his  liquid  tone  cannot  be 
matched.  He  utters  a  few  delicious  notes,  and  carelessly  quits  the  green  stage  of 
the  oak  till  it  pleases  him  to  sing  again.  Without  the  blackbird,  in  whose  throat 
the  sweetness  of  the  green  fields  dwells,  the  days  would  be  only  partly  summer.  — 
Richard  Jefferies,  The  Pageant  of  Summer. 


Xll  WHITE'S    SELBORNE 

than  once,  laying  it  down  as  an  ornithological  maxim  that 
as  long  as  incubation  is  going  on,  there  is  music.  Of 
such  songsters  he  specifies  the  yellowhammer  as  the  most 
persistent,  the  late  estival  chorus  being  additionally  strength- 
ened by  the  woodlark,  wren,  redbreast,  whitethroat,  goldfinch, 
linnet,  and  swallow,  whose  caressing  warble  he  justly  includes 
in  the  strain  of  the  minstrels.  His  favorite  chorister,  besides 
the  nightingale,  was  the  blackcap,  "  with  his  full,  deep,  sweet, 
loud,  and  wild  pipe  "  and  soft  and  varied  modulations,  the 
wild  sweetness  of  which  always  brought  to  his  mind  the  lines 
of  the  song  in  "As  You  Like  It,"  — 

"  And  turn  his  merry  note 
Unto  the  sweet  bird's  throat." 

Among  English  songsters,  the  nightingale  has  been  so 
extolled  as  to  have  left  comparatively  little  room  for  his 
rivals,  —  the  blackbird,  blackcap,  and  thrush.  These,  never- 
theless, especially  the  two  former,  are  held  by  not  a  few  to 
be  on  a  par  with  the  favorite  bird  of  the  poets.^  No  one  who 
has  heard  them  will  forget  the  clear,  ringing,  liquid  notes  of 
the  blackbird  and  thrush,  and  the  soft,  flute-like  tones  of  the 
blackcap's  "breezy  strain."  The  nightingale  of  the  Surrey 
lanes  and  Middlesex  copses,  however,  is  said  to  be  quite  dis- 
tinct, so  far  as  his  voice  is  concerned,  from  his  brother  in  the 
west,  whjere  he  is  regarded  as  but  a  feeble  performer  in  com- 
parison. To  "  listen  to  the  nightingale,"  one  must  be  upon 
the  scene  early  in  the  season,  preferably  near  London,  and 
then  await  the  pleasure  of  the  minstrel,  who  is  fickle  and  capri- 
cious in  his  singing,  and  whose  season  of  song  at  the  longest 
is  extremely  brief. 

It  is  less  as  an  analyst  of  avian  melody,  or  a  poetical  inter- 
preter of  the  beauties  of  outward  nature,  than  as  a  chronicler 

1  Amongst  our  charming  song-birds,  I  must  not  omit  the  blackcap,  which  is, 
I  think,  quite  on  an  equality  with  the  nightingale.  Mr.  Symes  thought  that  its 
mellow  notes  are  equal,  if  not  superior  in  richness  of  tone,  to  any  in  the  nightin- 
gale's song,  and  in  this  opinion  I  perfectly  agree  with  him.  —  Edward  Jesse, 
Scenes  and  Occupations  of  a  Country  Life. 

There  is  no  note  so  sweet  and  deep  and  melodious  as  that  of  the  blackbird 
to  be  heard  in  our  fields  ;  it  is  even  richer  than  the  nightingale's,  though  not  so 
varied.  —  Richard  Jefferies,  Wild  Life  in  a  Southern  County. 


WHITE'S    SELBORNE  Xlll 

of  the  ways  and  habits  of  the  feathered  hosts,  and  a  historian 
or  custodian  of  facts  and  causes  relating  to  the  natural  world, 
that  White  claims  attention.  To  know  the  poetry  and  soul 
of  the  bird,  to  comprehend  the  utterance  of  the  breeze  and 
voice  of  the  wild  flower,  to  catch  the  whisper  of  the  unfold- 
ing leaf,  and  penetrate  the  message  of  the  blue  sky  bending 
over,  one  must  turn  to  the  golden  pages  of  the  prose  poet  of 
Coate,  for  no  one  has  succeeded  in  interpreting  them  so 
beautifully,  so  lovingly,  so  tenderly,  as  he. 

Except  for  his  deafness,  which  incommoded  him  greatly 
at  times  during  his  later  years,  the  senses  of  White  were 
marvelously  acute,  enabling  him  to  detect  many  things  that 
were  imperceptible  to  the  ordinary  observer.  Thus  he  could 
hear  the  swallow,  while  engaged  in  foraging  for  insects,  snap 
her  bill  when  a  fly  was  taken,  a  sound  resembling  the  noise 
at  the  shutting  of  a  watch-case ;  but  the  motion  of  the  mandi- 
bles was  too  quick  to  be  perceived.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
could  discern  the  eve-jarr  in  the  twilight,  while  circling  swiftly 
round  an  oak  that  swarmed  with  fern-chafers,  thrust  out  its 
short  leg  occasionally,  and,  by  a  bend  of  the  head,  convey  its 
prey  into  its  mouth.^ 

He  discovered  that  the  swallows,  like  very  many  insects, 
propagate  on  the  wing,  as  well  as  eat,  drink,  bathe,  collect 
materials  for  their  nests,  and  feed  their  young  while  in  flight, 
rising  very  early  and  retiring  to  roost  very  late,  being  in  rapid 
action  during  the  height  of  summer  at  least  sixteen  hours. 
Swallows  and  martins,  he  says,  that  have  numerous  fami- 
lies, are  continually  feeding  them  every  two  or  three  minutes ; 
whereas  the  swifts,  that  have  but  two  young  to  maintain,  are 
much  at  their  leisure,  and  do  not  attend  on  their  nests  for 
hours  together.  The  swifts  seldom  being  seen  hawking,  like 
the  swallow,  near  the  ground  or  water,  but  seeking  their  food 
in  a  more  elevated  plane  than  the  other  species,  he  concludes 
that  they,  together  with  the  larger  bats,  derive  their  suste- 
nance from  some  sort  of  high-flying  gnats  or  insects  which 
are  short  of  continuance ;  and  that  the  brief  sojourn  of  the 
swifts,  accordingly,  is  governed  by  the  defect  of  their  food 
supply.     It  was  noticed  by  him  that  birds  are  largely  influ- 

1  Letters  LVII.,  XLVII. 


XIV  WHITE'S   SELBORNE 

enced  in  their  choice  of  food  by  color,  red  being  especially 
favored  by  many  species,  much  as  bees  and  numerous  insects 
are  partial  to  flowers  of  certain  hues. 

It  would  have  been  interesting  could  White  have  watched 
the  mysterious  movements  of  one  of  our  game  birds,  the 
woodcock,  some  of  whose  habits  —  especially  its  strange 
disappearance  during  the  moulting  season  —  would  have  puz- 
zled him  perchance  as  greatly  as  the  vanishing  swallow  kind, 
which  he  would  fain  believe  hybernated  in  the  Island,  instead 
of  migrating  to  a  warmer  clime.  The  drumming  of  the  ruffed 
grouse,  in  like  manner,  which  so  long  baffled  the  naturalists, 
would  have  afforded  him  an  equal  opportunity  for  close 
investigation.  Although  he  declares  there  is  no  bird 
whose  habits  he  has  studied  so  closely  as  those  of  the  fern- 
owl or  goat-sucker,  —  a  favorite  also  with  Thoreau,  —  the 
reader  will  place  the  swallow  tribe  on  an  equal  plane.  To 
these  he  recurs  continually,  much  as  does  the  Walden  phi- 
losopher to  his  mysterious  "night-warbler,"  and  his  owl,  "the 
alpha  and  omega  of  sound." 

Throughout  the  pages  of  the  "Natural  History  of  Selborne," 
the  migrants  are  ever  his  deepest  concern,  the  subject  of 
migration  even  yet  affording  mysteries  that  have  scarcely 
been  penetrated.  The  olden  belief  that  the  swallow  kind 
hybernated  under  water  or  in  the  ground  or  caves,  was 
shared  by  him,  though  sometimes,  it  would  seem,  in  a  waver- 
ing way,  he  reverting  continually  to  the  subject  in  numerous 
letters.  Nor  could  he  bring  himself  to  believe  that  certain 
other  birds  of  passage  —  which  were  feeble  fliers,  and  which 
throughout  the  summer  flitted  but  from  hedge  to  hedge  —  could 
be  able  to  traverse  the  seas  in  flight  to  remote  continents. 

It  was  likewise  a  mystery  to  him  whence  the  ring-ouzels 
migrate  so  mysteriously  every  September,  to  make  their 
appearance  again,  as  if  on  their  return,  every  April;  as,  in 
his  earlier  letters,  he  was  also  perplexed  that  the  swift  should 
leave  before  the  middle  of  August  invariably,  while  the  house- 
martin  remained  till  the  middle  of  October. 

It  was  his  custom  to  visit  the  seacoast  annually  to  keep  a 
lookout  for  departing  passeres,  although  he  was  never  able 
to  discover  the  summer  short-winged  birds  of  passage  assem- 


WHITE'S   SELBORNE  XV 

bling  for  distant  flight.  The  fact  that  he  had  frequently 
noticed  that  swallows  were  seen  later  at  Oxford  than  else- 
where, led  him  to  believe  that  this  might  be  owing  to  the 
vast  mossy  buildings  of  that  place,  or  possibly  to  the  many 
waters  surrounding  it.  He  had  observed  these  birds  to  cling 
by  their  claws  against  the  surface  of  the  church  walls  before 
hybernating,  and  he  was  incessantly  studying  their  move- 
ments in  autumn  in  the  neighboring  waters  for  proof  of  his 
more  than  half-suspected  theory  that  they  concealed  them- 
selves in  the  banks  of  pools  and  rivers  during  the  winter. 

Yet  while  ornithology  was  his  favorite  study,  he  was  almost 
equally  at  home  in  other  branches  of  natural  history,  —  the 
plant,  arboreal,  insect  and  animal  life  that  surrounded  him, 
as  well  as  the  complexion  of  the  soils  and  etiology  of  the 
weather,  regarding  all  of  which  his  observations  are  most 
exact  and  comprehensive.  It  is  only  in  ichthyology  that  we 
find  him  less  at  home  and  unfamiliar  with  Dame  Julyans  and 
"  The  Compleat  Angler." 

Many  singular  facts  and  anecdotes  are  related  by  him  con- 
cerning the  customs,  superstitions,  history,  phenomena,  and 
antiquities  of  the  country.  Among  the  quaint  customs  of 
the  time  was  that  of  renewing  the  arbors  of  Waldon,  and 
Brimstone  Lodge  in  Wolmer  Forest,  which  were  constructed 
of  the  boughs  of  oaks,  these  being  renewed  annually  by  the 
keepers  on  the  feast  of  St.  Barnabas ;  the  farm  called  Black- 
more  being  obliged  to  supply  the  material  for  the  former, 
while  the  farms  of  Greatham,  in  rotation,  furnished  for  the 
latter.^  He  tells  also  of  a  minute  insect,  termed  harvest-bug, 
common  in  chalky  districts,  which  was  very  troublesome  during 
late  summer,  getting  into  people's  skins  and  raising  humors 
that  itched  intolerably,  men  often  being  so  bitten  by  it  as  to 
be  thrown  into  fevers.^ 

No  less  strange  are  his  accounts  of  the  boy  bee-eater,  the 
prevailing  superstitions  concerning  the  ash-tree,  the  sinking 
of  the  Hanger  at  Hawkley,  and  the  small  hill  ponds  which 
maintained  a  supply  of  water  during  the  severest  droughts, 
when  even  large  valley  ponds  ran  dry.  Indeed,  whether  he 
is  discoursing  of  the  growth  of  an  elephant's  tusk,  or  the  walk 

1  Letter  VII.  2  Letter  XLIII. 

I 


xvi  WHITE'S   SELBORNE 

of  the  gallincB ;  of  hills  attracting  clouds,  or  the  association 
of  sounds  ;  of  Mahommedans  dusting  themselves,  or  of  long- 
billed  birds  fattening  during  moderate  frosts,  his  text  is  always 
instructive  and  entertaining. 

It  was  rightly  judged  by  the  discerning  Selborne  curate 
that  it  is  the  repeated  melting  and  freezing  of  the  snow, 
rather  than  the  severity  of  the  cold,  that  is  fatal  to  vegeta- 
tion, especially  in  the  case  of  tender  evergreens.  On  this 
subject  his  remarks  may  be  read  with  advantage  to-day  by 
all  who  are  interested  in  the  planting  of  trees  and  shrubs.^ 
It  may  be  added,  however,  that  many  species  which  are  gener- 
ally considered  tender,  or  not  hardy,  may  be  acclimated  by 
proper  protection  during  winter  for  a  few  seasons,  until  they 
have  become  firmly  established,  and  gradually  inured  to  a 
change  of  climate. 

The  shifting  vane  of  the  weather  was  ever  attentively 
regarded  by  White,  the  last  letters  of  his  picturesque  mono- 
graph, which  are  devoted  to  the  meteorology  and  climatic 
phenomena  of  the  district,  revealing  him  as  an  accomplished 
Blasius  in  deciphering  the  handwriting  of  the  sky  and  the 
wayward  moods  of  clouds  and  air-currents.  It  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  he  did  not  carry  out  his  intention  of  adding  an 
Annus  Historico-naturalis,  or  "  The  Natural  History  of  the 
Twelve  Months  of  the  Year,"  which  was  to  have  comprised 
many  incidents  and  occurrences  not  included  in  his  chronicle. 

Thus,  ever  attentive  to  the  doings  of  the  natural  world,  and 
satisfied  with  his  lot  and  surroundings,  Gilbert  White  fully 
exemplified  Sir  Henry  Wotton's  definition  of  a  happy  life. 
To  say  that  he  found  Contentment  in  its  entirety  and  knew 
naught  of  vexation,  however,  were  misleading.  The  sun  may 
not  always  shine,  and  by  whom  shall  the  asperity  of  the  east 
wind  be  stayed  "i  And  who  among  mankind  has  ever  yet  dis- 
covered the  siren  that  the  poets  and  philosophers  since  time 
immemorial  have  sought  to  woo  ?  Even  his  gold  was  not 
entirely  without  alloy ;  and  he,  too,  in  a  minor  way,  had  his 
trials  and  tribulations.  The  smoke  from  the  heath-fires  of 
Wolmer  annoyed  him  ;  aphides,  wasps,  and  honey-dews  marred 
the  attractions  of  his  garden ;  and  frosts  at  times  cut  down  his 

1  Letter  CV. 


WHITE'S   SELBORNE  xvii 

pet  bays  and  laurestines.  In  vain  did  he  try  to  solve  the 
riddle  of  the  great  preponderance  of  females  among  the  chaf- 
finches in  winter ;  while  he  bewailed  the  fact  that  he  had  no 
companion  "  to  quicken  his  industry  and  sharpen  his  atten- 
tion." Moreover,  the  occasional  "  turbulence  "  of  the  weather 
in  the  spring  interfered  with  his  walks  and  investigations  ;  and 
though  the  rasping  voice  of  the  katydid  was  absent,  the  din 
of  the  field-crickets  was  so  great  in  hot  weather  as  "  to  make 
the  hills  echo."  Perhaps  his  greatest  tribulation  was  con- 
nected with  his  uncertainty  of  the  hybernation  of  the  swallow 
kind,  and  his  saddest  refrain  the  regret  of  the  poet,  — 

"  Voiseau  qui  charvie  le  bocage, 
Helas !  ne  chante  pas  toujour s^''  — 

existing  conditions  which  even  the  wishing-stone  on  the  neigh- 
boring hillside  was  powerless  to  exorcise. 

The  hand  of  time  has  left  comparatively  little  mark  upon 
the  external  scene  at  Selborne  since  White  lived  and  recorded, 
and  the  fairies  were  wont  to  dance  nightly  on  Wolmer  Common. 
In  the  churchyard,  the  giant  yew  still  casts  its  shade,  and  at 
dusk  the  rooks  chant  their  Aves  as  they  wing  their  way  to 
the  deep  beechen  woods  of  Tisted  and  Ropley.  The  old  male 
yew,  then  twenty-three  feet  in  circumference,  has  increased 
several  feet  in  girth  since  White  last  sat  beneath  its  "pillared 
shade"  and  mused  upon  its  symbol  of  immortality,  —  that 
while  "  generation  after  generation  might  be  gathered  to  their 
fathers,  it  still  proclaims  to  those  who  remain  that  all,  like  its 
evergreen  unchanging  hue,  were  yet  living  in  another  world 
that  life  which  had  been  the  object  of  their  desire."^  The 
church,  which  dates  from  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.,  has  recently 
been  "restored";  and  its  irregular  pews,  " of  all  dimensions 
and  heights,  patched  up  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  own- 
ers," as  is  recorded  in  "The  Antiquities  of  Selborne,"  have 
been  removed  and  replaced  by  low  modern  benches.     Gilbert 

^  The  age  of  the  Selborne  yew  is  unknown.  The  Anlcerwyke  yew,  near  Wind- 
sor, under  which  Henry  VIII.  is  said  to  have  met  Anna  Boleyn,  is  supposed  to  be 
upwards  of  one  thousand  years  old;  while,  according  to  Decandolle,  thirty  centu- 
ries must  be  assigned  as  the  age  of  the  patriarchal  tree  at  Braburne,  and  from 
twenty-five  to  twenty-six  centuries  to  that  at  Fortingal. 


XVlil  WHITE'S   SELBORNE 

White's  house  in  the  village,  known  as  "  The  Wakes,"  a 
heritage  from  his  uncle  in  1763,  —  his 

"rural,  sheltered,  unobscured  retreat,"  — 

yet  remains,  the  old  rooms  being  still  left,  though  their  arrange- 
ment has  been  altered,  and  the  whole  has  been  considerably 
enlarged.  In  the  garden,  "  whose  terrace  commands  so  roman- 
tic and  picturesque  a  prospect  that  the  first  master  in  landscape 
might  deem  it  an  object  well  worthy  of  his  pencil,"  stands  his 
sun-dial,  and  in  the  paddock  near  the  garden  are  the  remains 
of  his  summer-house. 

Audubon  and  Wilson,  together  with  Thoreau,  Jefferies,  and 
other  Idyllists  of  the  Country-side,  have  rendered  ornithology 
and  similar  studies  easier  since  the  monograph  of  the  illus- 
trious Hampshire  parson;  but  he  must  still  be  regarded  as 
the  stepping-stone  to  careful  observation,  and  the  inspiration, 
more  or  less,  of  the  flocks  of  volumes  that  have  succeeded  his 
which  are  concerned  with  ornithology  and  various  branches 
of  natural  history,  more  especially  the  less  technical  works 
on  out-of-door  studies  and  out-of-door  life.  Restricted  space 
necessarily  precludes  a  comparison  of  the  "  Natural  History 
of  Selborne"  with  numerous  works  of  other  authorities  on  kin- 
dred themes.  And  although  the  author's  facts  and  observations 
relate  to  a  country  whose  fauna  and  characteristics  differ 
largely  from  our  own,  they  will  be  found  none  the  less  inter- 
esting; while  so  far  as  the  manner  of  presentation  is  con- 
cerned, his  volume  will  always  serve  as  a  model  on  which  it 
is  difficult  to  improve. 

The  name  of  Selborne  has  been  immortalized  by  Gilbert 
White ;  and  the  visitor  who  accepts  his  olden  "  Invitation  " 
to  climb  the  Hanger  and  view  the  beauties  of  its  lovely  pas- 
toral surroundings,  or  who  seeks  the  scene  of  his  Echo  in  the 
romantic  path  to  Nore  Hill,  will  intuitively  recall  the  lines  of 
the  "  Faerie  Queene  "  :  — 

"  And  every  wood,  and  every  valley  wide, 
He  filled  with  Hylas'  name,  the  nymphs  eke  Hylas  crlde." 

George  H.  Ellwanger. 


Jiiliu;!  UiiaaCol.iUi  y.Y 


ADVERTISEMENT   TO    ORIGINAL   EDITION 


THE  Author  of  the  following  Letters  takes  the  liberty, 
with  all  proper  deference,  of  laying  before  the  public 
his  idea  of  pat'ocJiial  history,  which,  he  thinks,  ought 
to  consist  of  natural  productions  and  occurrences  as  well 
as  antiquities.  He  is  also  of  opinion  that  if  stationary  men 
would  pay  some  attention  to  the  districts  on  which  they  reside, 
and  would  publish  their  thoughts  respecting  the  objects  that 
surround  them,  from  such  materials  might  be  drawn  the 
most  complete  county-histories,  which  are  still  wanting  in 
several  parts  of  this  kingdom,  and  in  particular  in  the  county 
of  Southampton. 

And  here  he  seizes  the  first  opportunity,  though  a  late  one, 
of  returning  his  most  grateful  acknowledgments  to  the  rev- 
erend the  President  and  the  reverend  and  worthy  the  Fellows 
of  Magdalen  College  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  for  their 
liberal  behavior  in  permitting  their  archives  to  be  searched  by 
a  member  of  their  own  society,  so  far  as  the  evidences  therein 
contained  might  respect  the  parish  and  Priory  of  Selborne. 
To  that  gentleman,  also,  and  his  assistant,  whose  labors  and 
attention  could  only  be  equaled  by  the  very  kind  manner  in 
which  they  were  bestowed,  many  and  great  obligations  are 
also  due. 

Of  the  authenticity  of  the  documents  above-mentioned  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  since  they  consist  of  the  identical  deeds 
and  records  that  were  removed  to  the  College  from  the 
Priory  at  the  time  of  its  dissolution ;  and,  being  carefully 
copied  on  the  spot,  may  be  depended  on  as  genuine ;  and, 
never  having  been  made  public  before,  may  gratify  the  curi- 
osity of  the  antiquary,  as  well  as  establish  the  credit  of  the 
history. 


XIX 


XX  ADVERTISEMENT   TO   ORIGINAL   EDITION 

If  the  writer  should  at  all  appear  to  have  induced  any  of 
his  readers  to  pay  a  more  ready  attention  to  the  wonders  of 
the  Creation,  too  frequently  overlooked  as  common  occur- 
rences ;  or  if  he  should  by  any  means,  through  his  researches, 
have  lent  a  helping  hand  towards  the  enlargement  of  the 
boundaries  of  historical  and  topographical  knowledge ;  or  if 
he  should  have  thrown  some  small  light  upon  ancient  customs 
and  manners,  and  especially  on  those  that  were  monastic ; 
his  purpose  will  be  fully  answered.  But  if  he  should  not 
have  been  successful  in  any  of  these,  his  intentions,  yet  there 
remains  this  consolation  behind  —  that  these,  his  pursuits,  by 
keeping  the  body  and  mind  employed,  have,  under  Provi- 
dence, contributed  to  much  health  and  cheerfulness  of  spirits, 
even  to  old  age ;  and,  what  still  adds  to  his  happiness,  have 
led  him  to  the  knowledge  of  a  circle  of  gentlemen  whose 
intelligent  communications,  as  they  have  afforded  him  much 
pleasing  information,  so,  could  he  flatter  himself  with  a  con- 
tinuation of  them,  would  they  ever  be  deemed  a  matter  of 
singular  satisfaction  and  improvement. 

Sei.borne, 
January  \st,  1788. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Natural  History  of  Selborne 3 

The  Antiquities  of  Selborne 241 

Observations  on  Various  Parts  of  Nature  .        .        •    329 


THE 

NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE 

LETTERS   ADDRESSED   TO   THOMAS   PENNANT,   ESQ. 


LETTER   I 

THE  parish  of  Selbdrne  lies  in  the  extreme  eastern  cor- 
ner of  the  county  of  Hampshire,  bordering  on  the  county 
of  Sussex,  and  not  far  from  the  county  of  Surrey ;  is 
about  fifty  miles  south-west  of  London,  in  latitude  fifty-one,  and 
near  mid-way  between  the  towns  of  Alton  and  Petersfield.  Be- 
ing very  large  and  extensive,  it  abuts  on  twelve  parishes,  two 
of  which  are  in  Sussex,  viz.,  Trotton  and  Rogate.  If  you  be- 
gin from  the  south  and  proceed  westward,  the  adjacent  parishes 
are  Emshot,  Newton  Valence,  Faringdon,  Harteley  Mauduit, 
Great  Ward  le  ham,  Kingsley,  Hadleigh,  Bramshot,  Trotton, 
Rogate,  Lyffe,  and  Greatham.  The  soils  of  this  district  are 
almost  as  various  and  diversified  as  the  views  and  aspects. 
The  high  part  of  the  south-west  consists  of  a  vast  hill  of  chalk, 
rising  three  hundred  feet  above  the  village,  and  is  divided  into 
a  sheep-down,  the  high  wood  and  a  long  hanging  wood,  called 
The  Hanger.  The  covert  of  this  eminence  is  altogether  beech, 
the  most  lovely  of  all  forest  trees,  whether  we  consider  its 
smooth  rind  or  bark,  its  glossy  foliage,  or  graceful  pendulous 
boughs.^  The  down,  or  sheepwalk,  is  a  pleasing  park-like 
spot,  of  about  one  mile  by  half  that  space,  jutting  out  on  the 
verge  of  the  hill-country,  where  it  begins  to  break  down  into 
the  plains,  and  commanding  a  very  engaging  view,  being  an 
assemblage  of  hill,  dale,  wood-lands,  heath,  and  water.     The 

3 


D.  H.  HILL  LIBRARY 
North  Carolina  State  College 


4  WHITE 

prospect  is  bounded  to  the  south-east  and  east  by  the  vast 
range  of  mountains  called  the  Sussex  Downs,  by  Guild-down 
near  Guildford,  and  by  the  Downs  round  Dorking,  and  Rye- 
gate  in  Surrey,  to  the  north-east,  which  altogether,  with  the 
country  beyond  Alton  and  Farnham,  form  a  noble  and  exten- 
sive outline. 

At  the  foot  of  this  hill,  one  stage  or  step  from  the  uplands, 
lies  the  village,  which  consists  of  one  single  straggling  street, 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  length,  in  a  sheltered  vale,  and  run- 
ning parallel  with  The  Hanger.  The  houses  are  divided  from 
the  hill  by  a  vein  of  stiff  clay  (good  wheat-land),  yet  stand  on 
a  rock  of  white  stone,  little  in  appearance  removed  from  chalk ; 
but  seems  so  far  from  being  calcareous,  that  it  endures  extreme 
heat.  Yet  that  the  freestone  still  preserves  somewhat  that  is 
analogous  to  chalk,  is  plain  from  the  beeches  which  descend  as 
low  as  those  rocks  extend,  and  no  farther,  and  thrive  as  well 
on  them,  where  the  ground  is  steep,  as  on  the  chalks. 

The  cart-way  of  the  village  divides,  in  a  remarkable  man- 
ner, two  very  incongruous  soils.  To  the  south-west  is  a  rank 
clay,  that  requires  the  labor  of  years  to  render  it  mellow ; 
while  the  gardens  to  the  north-east,  and  small  enclosures 
behind,  consist  of  a  warm,  forward,  crumbling  mould,  called 
black  malm,  which  seems  highly  saturated  with  vegetable 
and  animal  manure ;  and  these  may  perhaps  have  been  the 
original  site  of  the  town ;  while  the  woods  and  coverts  might 
extend  down  to  the  opposite  bank.^ 

At  each  end  of  the  village,  which  runs  from  south-east  to 
north-west,  arises  a  small  rivulet :  that  at  the  north-west  end 
frequently  fails;  but  the  other  is  a  fine  perennial  spring, 
little  influenced  by  drought  or  wet  seasons,  called  Well-head.^ 
This  breaks  out  of  some  high  grounds  joining  to  Nore  Hill, 
a  noble  chalk  promontory,  remarkable  for  sending  forth  two 
streams  into  two  different  seas.  The  one  to  the  south  becomes 
a  branch  of  the  Arun,  running  to  Arundel,  and  so  sailing  into 
the  British  Channel :  the  other  to  the  north.  The  Selborne 
stream  makes  one  branch  of  the  Wey;  and,  meeting  the 
Black-down  stream  at  Hedleigh,  and  the  Alton  and  Farnham 
stream  at  Tilford-bridge,  swells  into  a  considerable  river, 
navigable  at  Godalming ;  from  whence  it  passes  to  Guildford, 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  5 

and  so  into  the  Thames  at  Weybridge ;  and  thus  at  the  Nore 
into  the  German  Ocean. 

Our  wells,  at  an  average,  run  to  about  sixty-three  feet,  and 
when  sunk  to  that  depth  seldom  fail ;  but  produce  a  fine  lim- 
pid water,  soft  to  the  taste,  and  much  commended  by  those 
who  drink  the  pure  element,  but  which  does  not  lather  well 
with  soap. 

To  the  north-west,  north  and  east  of  the  village,  is  a  range 
of  fair  enclosures,  consisting  of  what  is  called  a  white  malm,  a 
sort  of  rotten  or  rubble  stone,  which,  when  turned  up  to  the  frost 
and  rain,  moulders  to  pieces,  and  becomes  manure  to  itself.'* 

Still  on  to  the  north-east,  and  a  step  lower,  is  a  kind  of 
white  land,  neither  chalk  nor  clay,  neither  fit  for  pasture  nor 
for  the  plough,  yet  kindly  for  hops,  which  root  deep  in  the 
freestone,  and  have  their  poles  and  wood  for  charcoal  growing 
just  at  hand.     The  white  soil  produces  the  brightest  hops. 

As  the  parish  still  inclines  down  towards  Wolmer-forest,  at 
the  juncture  of  the  clays  and  sand  the  soil  becomes  a  wet, 
sandy  loam,  remarkable  for  timber,  and  infamous  for  roads. 
The  oaks  of  Temple  and  Blackmoor  stand  high  in  the  esti- 
mation of  purveyors,  and  have  furnished  much  naval  timber; 
while  the  trees  on  the  freestone  grow  large,  but  are  what 
workmen  call  shaky,  and  so  brittle  as  often  to  fall  to  pieces 
in  sawing.  Beyond  the  sandy  loam  the  soil  becomes  a  hungry 
lean  sand,  till  it  mingles  with  the  forest;  and  will  produce 
little  without  the  assistance  of  lime  and  turnips. 

Notes 

*  A  noticeable  feature  about  the  beech  is  the  peculiar  absence  of  under- 
wood beneath  it.  Thus  the  stem  is  seen  in  its  full  beauty.  The  decaying 
beech-mast  and  leaves  lying  upon  the  ground  are  apparently  inimical  to 
other  vegetable  life. 

2  The  north-east  part  of  Selborne  stands  upon  the  Upper  Greensand, 
while  to  the  south-west  is  the  Chalk  Marl,  abruptly  divided  from  each  other 
as  mentioned  by  White.  —  G.  Christopher  Davies. 

^  This  spring  produced,  September  loth,  1871,  after  a  severe  hot  sum- 
mer, and  a  preceding  dry  spring  and  winter,  nine  gallons  of  water  in  a 
minute,  which  is  540  in  an  hour,  and  12,960,  or  216  hogsheads,  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  or  one  natural  day.  At  this  time  many  of  the  wells  failed,  and 
all  the  ponds  in  the  vale  were  dry.  —  Gilbert  White. 

*  This  soil  produces  good  wheat  and  clover.  —  G.  W. 


WHITE 


LETTER   II 

In  the  court  of  Norton  farmhouse,  a  manor  farm  to  the  north- 
west of  the  village,  on  the  white  malms,  stood  within  these 
twenty  years  a  broad-leaved  elm,  or  wych  hazel,  iilmiis  folio 
latissimo  scabro  of  Ray,  which,  though  it  had  lost  a  consider- 
able leading  bough  in  the  great  storm  in  the  year  1 703,  equal 
to  a  moderate  tree,  yet,  when  felled,  contained  eight  loads  of 
timber ;  and  being  too  bulky  for  a  carriage,  was  sawn  off  at 
seven  feet  above  the  butt,  where  it  measured  near  eight  feet 
in  the  diameter.  This  elm  I  mention  to  show  to  what  a  bulk 
planted  elms  may  attain ;  as  this  tree  must  certainly  have  been 
such  from  its  situation. 

In  the  centre  of  the  village,  and  near  the  church,  is  a  square 
piece  of  ground  surrounded  by  houses,  and  vulgarly  called 
"  The  Plestor."  In  the  midst  of  this  spot  stood,  in  old  times, 
a  vast  oak,  with  a  short  squat  body,  and  huge  horizontal  arms 
extending  almost  to  the  extremity  of  the  area.  This  venera- 
ble tree,  surrounded  with  stone  steps,  and  seats  above  them, 
was  the  delight  of  old  and  young,  and  a  place  of  much  resort 
in  summer  evenings ;  where  the  former  sat  in  grave  debate, 
while  the  latter  frolicked  and  danced  before  them.  Long 
might  it  have  stood,  had  not  the  amazing  tempest  in  1703 
overturned  it  at  once,  to  the  infinite  regret  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  the  vicar,  who  bestowed  several  pounds  in  setting  it  in  its 
place  again  :  but  all  his  care  could  not  avail ;  the  tree  sprouted 
for  a  time,  then  withered  and  died.  This  oak  I  mention  to 
show  to  what  a  bulk  planted  oaks  also  may  arrive :  and  planted 
this  tree  must  certainly  have  been,  as  will  appear  from  what 
will  be  said  farther  concerning  this  area,  when  we  enter  on  the 
antiquities  of  Selborne. 

On  the  Blackmoor  estate  there  is  a  small  wood  called  Losel's, 
of  a  few  acres,  that  was  lately  furnished  with  a  set  of  oaks  of 
a  peculiar  growth  and  great  value ;  they  were  tall  and  taper 
like  firs,  but  standing  near  together  had  very  small  heads,  only 
a  little  brush  without  any  large  limbs.  About  twenty  years 
ago  the  bridge  at  the  Toy,  near  Hampton  Court,  being  much 
decayed,  some  trees  were  wanted  for  the  repairs  that  were  fifty 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF  SELBORNE  7 

feet  long  without  bough,  and  would  measure  twelve  inches 
diameter  at  the  little  end.  Twenty  such  trees  did  a  purveyor 
find  in  this  little  wood,  with  this  advantage,  that  many  of  them 
answered  the  description  at  sixty  feet.  These  trees  were  sold 
for  twenty  pounds  apiece. 

In  the  centre  of  this  grove  there  stood  an  oak,  which,  though 
shapely  and  tall  on  the  whole,  bulged  out  into  a  large  excres* 
cence  about  the  middle  of  the  stem.  On  this  a  pair  of  ravens 
had  fixed  their  residence  for  such  a  series  of  years,  that  the 
oak  was  distinguished  by  the  title  of  the  Raven  Tree.  Many 
were  the  attempts  of  the  neighboring  youths  to  get  at  this 
eyry :  the  difficulty  whetted  their  inclinations,  and  each  was 
ambitious  of  surmounting  the  arduous  task.  But,  when  they 
arrived  at  the  swelling,  it  jutted  out  so  in  their  way,  and  was 
so  far  beyond  their  grasp,  that  the  most  daring  lads  were  awed, 
and  acknowledged  the  undertaking  to  be  too  hazardous :  so 
the  ravens  built  on,  nest  upon  nest,  in  perfect  security,  till  the 
fatal  day  arrived  in  which  the  wood  was  to  be  levelled.  It 
was  in  the  month  of  February,  when  these  birds  usually  sit. 
The  saw  was  applied  to  the  butt,  —  the  wedges  were  inserted 
into  the  opening,  —  the  woods  echoed  to  the  heavy  blow  of 
the  beetle  or  mall  or  mallet,  —  the  tree  nodded  to  its  fall;  but 
still  the  dam  sat  on.  At  last,  when  it  gave  way,  the  bird  was 
flung  from  her  nest;  and,  though  her  parental  affection  de- 
served a  better  fate,  was  whipped  down  by  the  twigs,  which 
brought  her  dead  to  the  ground.^ 

Note 

^  The  landrail,  that  shyest  of  birds,  often  sits  upon  its  eggs  on  the  ground 
in  the  hayfield  until  it  is  slain  by  the  scythe  of  the  mowers.  Instances  in- 
numerable of  the  tenacity  with  which  birds  will  sit  on  their  eggs  when  they 
are  nearly  hatched  may  be  cited.  I  once  lifted  a  hen  blackbird  off  her  nest, 
and  she  came  back  again  when  we  had  moved  a  few  feet  away.  All  birds 
and  animals  are  bold  in  the  defence  of  their  young,  and  it  seems  strange 
that  this  affection  should  so  completely  vanish  as  it  does  when  the  young 
are  able  to  shift  for  themselves.  —  G.  C.  D. 


8  WHITE 


LETTER   III 

The  fossil-shells  of  this  district,  and  sorts  of  stone,  such  as 
have  fallen  within  my  observation,  must  not  be  passed  over 
in  silence.  And  first  I  must  mention,  as  a  great  curiosity,  a 
specimen  that  was  ploughed  up  in  the  chalky  fields,  near  the 
side  of  the  Down,  and  given  to  me  for  the  singularity  of  its 
appearance,  which,  to  an  incurious  eye,  seems  like  a  petrified 
fish  of  about  four  inches  long,  the  cardo  passing  for  a  head 
and  mouth.  It  is  in  reality  a  bivalve  of  the  Linnaean  Genus 
of  Mytilus,  and  the  species  of  Crista  Galli ;  called  by  Lister, 
Rastelliim;  by  Rumphius,  Ostreiim plicatum  minus ;  by  D'Ar- 
genville,  Auris  Porci,  s.  Crista  Galli ;  and  by  those  who  make 
collections.  Cock's  Comb.^  Though  I  applied  to  several  such 
in  London,  I  never  could  meet  with  an  entire  specimen ;  nor 
could  I  ever  find  in  books  any  engraving  from  a  perfect  one. 
In  the  superb  museum  at  Leicester  House,  permission  was 
given  me  to  examine  for  this  article ;  and,  though  I  was  dis- 
appointed as  to  the  fossil,  I  was  highly  gratified  with  the  sight 
of  several  of  the  shells  themselves  in  high  preservation.  This 
bivalve  is  only  known  to  inhabit  the  Indian  Ocean,  where  it 
fixes  itself  to  a  zoophyte,  known  by  the  name  Gorgonia.  The 
curious  foldings  of  the  suture  the  one  into  the  other,  the  alter- 
nate flutings  or  grooves,  and  the  curved  form  of  my  specimen 
are  much  easier  expressed  by  the  pencil  than  by  words. 

Corniia  Ammonis'^  are  very  common  about  this  village.  As 
we  were  cutting  an  inclining  path  up  the  Hanger,  the  labor- 
ers found  them  frequently  on  that  steep,  just  under  the  soil, 
in  the  chalk,  and  of  a  considerable  size.  In  the  lane  above 
Wall-head,  in  the  way  to  Emshot,  they  abound  in  the  bank  in 
a  darkish  sort  of  marl ;  and  are  usually  very  small  and  soft : 
but  in  Clay's  Pond,  a  little  farther  on,  at  the  end  of  the  pit, 
where  the  soil  is  dug  out  for  manure,  I  have  occasionally  ob- 
served them  of  large  dimensions,  perhaps  fourteen  or  sixteen 
inches  in  diameter.  But  as  these  did  not  consist  of  firm  stone, 
but  were  formed  of  a  kind  of  terra  lapidosa,  or  hardened  clay, 
as  soon  as  they  were  exposed  to  the  rains  and  frost  they  mould- 
ered away.     These  seemed  as  if  they  were  a  very  recent  pro- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  9 

duction.     In  the  chalk-pit,  at  the  north-west  end  of  the  Hanger, 
large  nautili  are  sometimes  observed. 

In  the  very  thickest  strata  of  our  freestone,  and  at  consider- 
able depths,  well-diggers  often  find  large  scallops  or  pectines, 
having  both  shells  deeply  striated,  and  ridged  and  furrowed 
alternately.  They  are  highly  impregnated  with,  if  not  wholly 
composed  of,  the  stone  of  the  quarry. 

Notes 

^  This  fossil  is  not  what  White  supposes,  but  is  a  different  species,  be- 
longing to  the  upper  greensand,  known  as  Ostrea  carinata. 

*  The  Ammonite  is  a  very  striking-looking  fossil,  and  a  common  one. 
When  I  was  a  small  boy  I  used  to  delight  in  playing  with  a  very  large  one 
belonging  to  my  father's  collection,  which  would  take  to  pieces,  each  sec- 
tion of  the  shell  being  loose,  showing  the  formation  admirably.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   IV 

As  in  a  former  letter  the  freestone  of  this  place  has  been 
only  mentioned  incidentally,  I  shall  here  become  more  par- 
ticular. 

This  stone  is  in  great  request  for  hearth-stones,  and  the  beds 
of  ovens  :  and  in  lining  of  lime-kilns  it  turns  to  good  account; 
for  the  workmen  use  sandy  loam  instead  of  mortar ;  the  sand 
of  which  fluxes,^  and  runs  by  the  intense  heat,  and  so  cases 
over  the  whole  face  of  the  kiln  with  a  strong  vitrified  coat- 
like glass,  that  it  is  well  preserved  from  injuries  of  weather, 
and  endures  thirty  or  forty  years.  When  chiselled  smooth,  it 
makes  elegant  fronts  for  houses,  equal  in  color  and  grain  to 
Bath  stone  ;  and  superior  in  one  respect,  that,  when  seasoned, 
it  does  not  scale.  Decent  chimney-pieces  are  worked  from  it 
of  much  closer  and  finer  grain  than  Portland ;  and  rooms  are 
floored  with  it ;  but  it  proves  rather  too  soft  for  this  purpose. 
It  is  a  freestone  cutting  in  all  directions  ;  yet  has  something  of 
a  grain  parallel  with  the  horizon,  and  therefore  should  not  be 
surbedded,  but  laid  in  the  same  position  that  it  grows  in  the 
quarry .2    On  the  ground  abroad  this  firestone  will  not  succeed 


10  WHITE 

for  pavements,  because,  probably  some  degrees  of  saltness  pre- 
vailing within  it,  the  rain  tears  the  slabs  to  pieces.^  Though 
this  stone  is  too  hard  to  be  acted  on  by  vinegar,  yet  both  the 
white  part,  and  even  the  blue  rag,  ferments  strongly  in  mineral 
acids.  Though  the  white  stone  will  not  bear  wet,  yet  in  every 
quarry  at  intervals  there  are  thin  strata  of  blue  rag,  which 
resist  rain  and  frost ;  and  are  excellent  for  pitching  of  stables, 
paths,  and  courts,  and  for  building  of  dry  walls  against  banks, 
a  valuable  species  of  fencing  much  in  use  in  this  village,  and 
for  mending  of  roads.  This  rag  is  rugged  and  stubborn,  and 
will  not  hew  to  a  smooth  face,  but  is  very  durable ;  yet,  as 
these  strata  are  shallow  and  lie  deep,  large  quantities  cannot 
be  procured  but  at  considerable  expense.  Among  the  blue 
rags  turn  up  some  blocks  tinged  with  a  stain  of  yellow  or  rust 
color,  which  seem  to  be  nearly  as  lasting  as  the  blue;  and 
every  now  and  then  balls  of  a  friable  substance,  like  rust  of 
iron,  called  rust  balls. 

In  Wolmer  Forest  I  see  but  one  sort  of  stone,  called  by 
the  workmen  sand,  or  forest-stone.  This  is  generally  of  the 
color  of  rusty  iron,  and  might  probably  be  worked  as  iron 
ore ;  is  very  hard  and  heavy,  and  of  a  firm,  compact  texture, 
and  composed  of  a  small  roundish  crystalline  grit,  cemented 
together  by  a  brown,  terrene,  ferruginous  matter ;  will  not  cut 
without  difficulty,  nor  easily  strike  fire  with  steel.  Being  often 
found  in  broad  flat  pieces,  it  makes  good  pavement  for  paths 
about  houses,  never  becoming  slippery  in  frost  or  rain ;  is 
excellent  for  dry  walls,  and  is  sometimes  used  in  buildings. 
In  many  parts  of  that  waste  it  lies  scattered  on  the  surface 
of  the  ground ;  but  is  dug  on  Weaver's  Down,  a  vast  hill  on 
the  eastern  verge  of  that  forest,  where  the  pits  are  shallow 
and  the  stratum  thin.     This  stone  is  imperishable. 

From  a  notion  of  rendering  their  work  the  more  elegant, 
and  giving  it  a  finish,  masons  chip  this  stone  into  small  frag- 
ments about  the  size  of  the  head  of  a  large  nail,  and  then 
stick  the  pieces  into  the  wet  mortar  along  the  joints  of  their 
freestone  walls;  this  embellishment  carries  an  odd  appear- 
ance, and  has  occasioned  strangers  sometimes  to  ask  us 
pleasantly,  "whether  we  fastened  our  walls  together  with 
tenpenny  nails." 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  II 

Notes 

'  There  may  probably  be  also  in  the  chalk  itself  that  is  burnt  for  lime  a 
proportion  of  sand  :  for  few  chalks  are  so  pure  as  to  have  none.  —  G.  W. 

'■2  To  siirbed  stone  is  to  set  it  edgewise,  contrary  to  the  posture  it  had  in 
the  quarry,  says  Dr.  Plot,  "  Oxfordshire,"  p.  "J"] .  But  sitrbeddiug  diOt%  not 
succeed  in  our  dry  walls  ;  neither  do  we  use  it  so  in  ovens,  though  he  says 
it  is  best  for  Teynton  stone.  —  G.  W. 

8  "  Firestone  is  full  of  salts,  and  has  no  sulphur :  must  be  close-grained, 
and  have  no  interstices.  Nothing  supports  fire  like  salts ;  saltstone  per- 
ishes exposed  to  wet  and  frost."    Plot's  Staff.,  p.  152.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   V 

Among  the  singularities  of  this  place  the  two  rocky  hollow 
lanes,  the  one  to  Alton,  and  the  other  to  the  forest,  deserve 
our  attention.  These  roads,  running  through  the  malm  lands, 
are,  by  the  traffic  of  ages,  and  the  fretting  of  water,  worn 
down  through  the  first  stratum  of  our  freestone,  and  partly 
through  the  second ;  so  that  they  look  more  like  water-courses 
than  roads ;  and  are  bedded  with  naked  rag  for  furlongs  to- 
gether. In  many  places  they  are  reduced  sixteen  or  eighteen 
feet  beneath  the  level  of  the  fields ;  and  after  floods,  and  in 
frosts,  exhibit  very  grotesque  and  wild  appearances,  from  the 
tangled  roots  that  are  twisted  among  the  strata,  and  from  the 
torrents  rushing  down  their  broken  sides  ;  and  especially  when 
those  cascades  are  frozen  into  icicles,  hanging  in  all  the  fanci- 
ful shapes  of  frost-work.  These  rugged  gloomy  scenes  affright 
the  ladies  when  they  peep  down  into  them  from  the  paths  above, 
and  make  timid  horsemen  shudder  while  they  ride  along  them  ; 
but  delight  the  naturalist  with  their  various  botany,  and  partic- 
ularly with  their  curious  filices  with  which  they  abound. 

The  manor  of  Selborne,  was  it  strictly  looked  after,  with  all 
its  kindly  aspects,  and  all  its  sloping  coverts,  would  swarm 
with  game ;  even  now  hares,  partridges,  and  pheasants  abound ; 
and  in  old  days  woodcocks  were  as  plentiful.  There  are  few 
quails,  because  they  more  affect  open  fields  than  enclosures ; 
after  harvest  some  few  landrails  are  seen. 

The  parish  of  Selborne,  by  taking  in  so  much  of  the  forest, 


12  WHITE 

is  a  vast  district.  Those  who  tread  the  bounds  are  employed 
part  of  three  days  in  the  business,  and  are  of  opinion  that  the 
outline,  in  all  its  curves  and  indentings,  does  not  comprise  less 
than  thirty  miles. 

The  village  stands  in  a  sheltered  spot,  secured  by  the 
Hanger  from  the  strong  westerly  winds.  The  air  is  soft,  but 
rather  moist  from  the  effluvia  of  so  many  trees ;  yet  perfectly 
healthy  and  free  from  agues. 

The  quantity  of  rain  that  falls  on  it  is  very  considerable,  as 
may  be  supposed  in  so  woody  and  mountainous  a  district.^ 
As  my  experience  of  measuring  the  water  is  but  of  short  date, 
I  am  not  qualified  to  give  the  mean  quantity .^  I  only  know 
that 

Inch.     Hund. 

From  May  i,  1779,  to  the  end  of  the  year  there  fell   .     .  28  37  ! 

Jan.  I,  1780,  to  Jan.  i,  1781 27  32 

Jan.  I,  1781,  to  Jan.  I,  1782 30  71 

Jan.  I,  1782,  to  Jan.  I,  1783 50  26! 

Jan.  I,  1783,  to  Jan.  I,  1784 33  71 

Jan.  I,  1784,  to  Jan.  i,  1785 33  80 

Jan.  I,  1785,  to  Jan.  I,  1786 31  55 

Jan.  I,  1786,  to  Jan.  i,  1787 39  57 

The  village  of  Selborne,  and  large  hamlet  of  Oakhanger, 
with  the  single  farms,  and  many  scattered  houses  along  the 
verge  of  the  forest,  contain  upwards  of  six  hundred  and 
seventy  inhabitants.^ 

We  abound  with  poor  ;  many  of  whom  are  sober  and  indus- 
trious, and  live  comfortably  in  good  stone  or  brick  cottages, 
which  are  glazed,  and  have  chambers  above  stairs  ;  mud  build- 
ings we  have  none.  Besides  the  employment  from  husbandry, 
the  men  work  in  hop-gardens,  of  which  we  have  many ;  and 
fell  and  bark  timber.  In  the  spring  and  summer  the  women 
weed  the  corn ;  and  enjoy  a  second  harvest  in  September  by 
hop-picking.  Formerly,  in  the  dead  months  they  availed  them- 
selves greatly  by  spinning  wool,  for  making  of  barragons,  a 
genteel  corded  stuff,  much  in  vogue  at  that  time  for  summer 
wear  ;  and  chiefly  manufactured  at  Alton,  a  neighboring  town, 
by  some  of  the  people  called  Quakers  ;  but  from  circumstances 
this  trade  is  at  an  end.*  The  inhabitants  enjoy  a  good  share 
of  health  and  longevity ;  and  the  parish  swarms  with  children. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE 


n 


Notes 

^  Mr.  Bell,  who  lives  in  the  house  which  was  White's,  says  that  the 
rainfall  at  Selborne  now  is  much  above  the  average,  and  White  rightly 
attributes  this  to  the  hilly  and  wooded  nature  of  the  district.  —  G.  C.  D. 

-  A  very  intelligent  gentleman  assures  me  (and  he  speaks  from  upwards 
of  forty  years'  experience),  that  the  mean  rain  of  any  place  cannot  be  as- 
certained till  a  person  has  measured  it  for  a  very  long  period.  "If  I  had 
only  measured  the  rain,"  says  he,  "for  the  four  first  years,  from  1740  to 
1743,  I  should  have  said  the  mean  rain  at  Lyndon  was  16J  inches  for  the 
year;  if  from  1740  to  1750,  18}  inches.  The  mean  rain  before  1763  was 
20'"  inches,  from  1763  and  since,  251  inches,  from  1770  to  1780,  26  inches. 
If  only  1773,  1774,  and  1775  had  been  measured,  Lyndon  mean  rain 
would  have  been  called  32  inches."  —  G.  W. 


*  A  State  of  the  Parish  of  Selborne,  taken  October  4TH,  1783 

The  number  of  tenements  or  families,  136. 
The  number  of  inhabitants  in  the  street  is  313)    Total  676;   near  five 

In  the  rest  of  the  parish 363  f      inhabitants  to  each 

■^  '')       tenement. 
In  the  time  of  the  Rev.  Gilbert  White,  Vicar,  who  died  in  1727-8,  the 
number  of  inhabitants  was  computed  at  about  500. 


Average  of  baptisms  for  60  years 


years  inclus.  i^^""'  ^•° 

From  17^0  to  )  -nr  ,      , 

1739,  both    ^-^^'^'^-^ 
years  inclus.  \^^"''  ^'^ 


12,9 


15.3 


From  1740  ^  j^  ^ 


to 


1749  incl.  ) 

From  1750 

to 
1759 


F.1:l|'s.^ 


incl.  )  ^-  ^■ 


IS.  7 


From  1760 1  j^^  ) 

1769  incl.  P-     ^'^j 

1779  mcl.  )         ^'    ) 


Total  of  baptisms  of  Males     .     .     515 
"  "  Females      .     465  ^ 

Total  of  baptisms  from  1720  to  1779,  both  inclusive,  60  years 


640 


980 


Average  of  burials  for  60  years 


From  1720  to  )  ,,  ,         „ 

1729,     both  j.j^"'4.8  g 

years  inclus.  )  ^^^-  5-1) 

"^^0^0^1^3103  4.81 


1739.  both 
years  inclus, 


JFem.  5,8j 


10,6 


From  1740 

to 

1749  incl, 

From  1750 

to 
1759  incl. 


1^.4.9) 
(F.5,i( 


4.6) 
3,8f 


i.4 


10.  o 


From  1760 1  ^^g) 
1769  incl.  y-  ^•5\ 


Total  of  burials  of  Males  .     •     31 
"  "  Females    .     3: 

Total  of  burials  from  1720  to  1779,  l^o^h  inclusive,  60  years 


1779  incl 


j  F.  6,  2  I 


640 


Baptisms  exceed  Burials  by  more  than  one-third. 
Baptisms  of  Males  exceed  Females  by  one-tenth,  or  one  in  ten. 
Burials  of  Females  exceed  Males  by  one  in  thirty. 
It  appears  that  a  child,  born  or  bred  in  this  parish,  has  an  equal  chance 
to  live  above  forty  years. 


14 


WHITE 


Twins  thirteen  times,  many  of  whom  dying  young  have  lessened  the 
chance  for  life. 

Chances  for  life  in  men  and  women  appear  to  be  equal. 


A  Table  of  the  Baptisms,  Burials,  and  Marriages,  from  January  2, 
1761,  TO  December  25,  1780,  in  the  Parish  of  Selborne 


1761 
1762 
1763 
1764 
1765 
1766 
1767 
1768 
1769 
1770 
1771 
1772 

1773 

1774 

1775 
1776 

1777 
1778 
1779 
1780 


BAPTISMS 

BURIALS 

MAR 

M. 

F. 

Tot. 

M. 

F. 

Tot. 

8 

ID 

18 

2 

4 

6 

3 

7 

8 

IS 

ID 

14 

24 

6 

8 

10 

18 

3 

4 

7 

S 

II 

9 

20 

10 

8 

18 

6 

12 

6 

18 

9 

7 

16 

6 

9 

13 

22 

10 

6 

16 

4 

14 

5 

19 

6 

5 

II 

2 

7 

6 

13 

2 

5 

7 

6 

9 

14 

23 

6 

5 

II 

2 

10 

13 

23 

4 

7 

II 

3 

10 

6 

16 

3 

4 

7 

4 

II 

10 

21 

6 

10 

16 

3 

8 

5 

13 

7 

5 

12 

3 

6 

13 

19 

2 

8 

10 

I 

20 

7 

27 

13 

8 

21 

6 

II 

10 

21 

4 

6 

10 

6 

8 

13 

21 

7 

3 

10 

4 

7 

13 

20 

3 

4 

7 

S 

14 

8 

22 

5 

6 

II 

s 

8 

9 

17 

II 

4 

IS 

3 

198 

188 

386 

123 

123 

246 

83 

During  this  period  of  twenty  years  the  births  of  males  exceeded  those 
of  females       ........... 

The  burials  of  each  sex  were  equal. 

And  the  births  exceeded  the  deaths 

G.  W. 
^  Since  the  passage  above  was  written,  I  am  happy  in  being  able  to  say 

that  the  spinning  employment  is  a  little  revived,  to  the  no  small  comfort 

of  the  industrious  housewife.  — G.  W. 


10 


140 


LETTER  VI 

Should  I  omit  to  describe  with  some  exactness  the  forest  of 
Wolmer,  of  which  three-fifths  perhaps  lie  in  this  parish,  my 
account  of  Selborne  would  be  very  imperfect,  as  it  is  a  district 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  1 5 

abounding  with  many  curious  productions,  both  animal  and 
vegetable ;  and  has  often  afforded  me  much  entertainment 
both  as  a  sportsman  and  as  a  naturalist. 

The  royal  forest  of  Wolmer  is  a  tract  of  land  of  about  seven 
miles  in  length,  by  two  and  a  half  in  breadth,  running  nearly 
from  north  to  south,  and  is  abutted  on,  to  begin  to  the  south, 
and  so  to  proceed  eastward,  by  the  parishes  of  Greatham, 
Lysse,  Rogate,  and  Trotton,  in  the  county  of  Sussex;  by 
Bramshot,  Hedleigh,  and  Kingsley.  This  royalty  consists  en- 
tirely of  sand  covered  with  heath  and  fern  ;  but  is  somewhat 
diversified  with  hills  and  dales,  without  having  one  standing 
tree  in  the  whole  extent.  In  the  bottoms,  where  the  waters 
stagnate,  are  many  bogs,  which  formerly  abounded  with  sub- 
terraneous trees  ;  though  Dr.  Plot  says  positively,^  that  "  there 
never  were  any  fallen  trees  hidden  in  the  mosses  of  the  south- 
ern counties."  But  he  was  mistaken  :  for  I  myself  have  seen 
cottages  on  the  verge  of  this  wild  district,  whose  timbers  con- 
sisted of  a  black  hard  wood,  looking  like  oak,  which  the  owners 
assured  me  they  procured  from  the  bogs  by  probing  the  soil 
with  spits,  or  some  such  instruments  :  but  the  peat  is  so  much 
cut  out,  and  the  moors  have  been  so  well  examined,  that  none 
has  been  found  of  late.^  Besides  the  oak,  I  have  also  been 
shown  pieces  of  fossil  wood  of  a  paler  color,  and  softer  nature, 
which  the  inhabitants  called  fir :  but,  upon  a  nice  examination, 
and  trial  by  fire,  I  could  discover  nothing  resinous  in  them ; 
and  therefore  rather  suppose  that  they  were  parts  of  a  willow 
or  alder,  or  some  such  aquatic  tree. 

This  lonely  domain  is  a  very  agreeable  haunt  for  many 
sorts  of  wild  fowls,  which  not  only  frequent  it  in  the  winter, 
but  breed  there  in  the  summer ;  such  as  lapwings,  snipes, 
wild-ducks,  and,  as  I  have  discovered  within  these  few  years, 
teals.  Partridges  in  vast  plenty  are  bred  in  good  seasons  on 
the  verge  of  this  forest,  into  which  they  love  to  make  excur- 
sions ;  and  in  particular,  in  the  dry  summers  of  1740  and  1741, 
and  some  years  after,  they  swarmed  to  such  a  degree  that 
parties  of  unreasonable  sportsmen  killed  twenty  and  some- 
times thirty  brace  in  a  day. 

But  there  was  a  nobler  species  of  game  in  this  forest,  now 
extinct,  which  I  have  heard  old  people  say  abounded  much 


l6  WHITE 

before  shooting  flying  became  so  common,  and  that  was  the 
heath-cock,  black-game,  or  grouse.  When  I  was  a  Httle  boy  I 
recollect  one  coming  now  and  then  to  my  father's  table.  The 
last  pack  remembered  was  killed  about  thirty-five  years  ago ; 
and  within  these  ten  years  one  solitary  greyhen  was  sprung  by 
some  beagles  in  beating  for  a  hare.  The  sportsmen  cried  out 
"  A  hen  pheasant !  "  but  a  gentleman  present,  who  had  often 
seen  grouse  in  the  north  of  England,  assured  me  that  it  was 
a  greyhen. 

Nor  does  the  loss  of  our  black-game  prove  the  only  gap  in 
the  Fauna  Selborniensis ;  for  another  beautiful  link  in  the 
chain  of  beings  is  wanting,  I  mean  the  red  deer,  which  toward 
the  beginning  of  this  century  amounted  to  about  five  hundred 
head,  and  made  a  stately  appearance.  There  is  an  old  keeper, 
now  alive,  named  Adams,  whose  great  grandfather  (mentioned 
in  a  perambulation  taken  in  1635),  grandfather,  father,  and 
self,  enjoyed  the  head  keepership  of  Wolmer  Forest  in  succes- 
sion for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  This  person  assures  me, 
that  his  father  has  often  told  him,  that  Queen  Anne,  as  she 
was  journeying  on  the  Portsmouth  road,  did  not  think  the  for- 
est of  Wolmer  beneath  her  royal  regard.  For  she  came  out 
of  the  great  road  at  Lippock,  which  is  just  by,  and,  reposing 
herself  on  a  bank  smoothed  for  that  purpose,  lying  about  half 
a  mile  to  the  east  of  Wolmer  Pond,  and  still  called  Queen's 
Bank,  saw  with  great  complacency  and  satisfaction  the  whole 
herd  of  red  deer  brought  by  the  keepers  along  the  vale  before 
her,  consisting  then  of  about  five  hundred  head.  A  sight  this, 
worthy  the  attention  of  the  greatest  sovereign !  But  he  farther 
adds  that,  by  means  of  the  Waltham  blacks  or,  to  use  his  own 
expression,  as  soon  as  they  began  blacking,  they  were  reduced 
to  about  fifty  head,  and  so  continued  decreasing  till  the  time 
of  the  late  Duke  of  Cumberland.  It  is  now  more  than  thirty 
years  ago  that  His  Highness  sent  down  a  huntsman,  and  six 
yeoman-prickers,  in  scarlet  jackets  laced  with  gold,  attended 
by  the  staghounds ;  ordering  them  to  take  every  deer  in  this 
forest  alive,  and  to  convey  them  in  carts  to  Windsor.  In  the 
course  of  the  summer  they  caught  every  stag,  some  of  which 
showed  extraordinary  diversion :  but  in  the  following  winter, 
when  the  hinds  were  also  carried  off,  such  fine  chases  were 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  1 7 

exhibited  as  served  the  country  people  for  matter  of  talk  and 
wonder  for  years  afterwards.  I  saw  myself  one  of  the  yeoman- 
prickers  single  out  a  stag  from  the  herd,  and  must  confess  that 
it  was  the  most  curious  feat  of  activity  I  ever  beheld,  superior 
to  anything  in  Mr.  Astley's  riding-school.  The  exertions  made 
by  the  horse  and  deer  much  exceeded  all  my  expectations ; 
though  the  former  greatly  excelled  the  latter  in  speed.  When 
the  devoted  deer  was  separated  from  his  companions,  they 
gave  him,  by  their  watches,  law,  as  they  called  it,  for  twenty 
minutes ;  when,  sounding  their  horns,  the  stop-dogs  were  per- 
mitted to  pursue,  and  a  most  gallant  scene  ensued. 

Notes 

1  See  his  "  History  of  Staffordshire."  —  G.  W. 

2  Old  people  have  assured  me,  that  on  a  winter's  morning  they  have  dis- 
covered these  trees,  in  the  bogs,  by  the  hoar  frost,  which  lay  longer  over  the 
space  where  they  are  concealed  than  in  the  surrounding  morass.  Nor  does 
this  seem  to  be  a  fanciful  notion,  but  consistent  with  true  philosophy.  Dr. 
Hales  saith,  "  That  the  warmth  of  the  earth,  at  some  depth  under  ground, 
has  an  influence  in  promoting  a  thaw,  as  well  as  the  change  of  the  weather 
from  a  freezing  to  a  thawing  state,  is  manifest  from  this  observation,  viz., 
Nov.  29th,  1 73 1,  a  little  snow  having  fallen  in  the  night,  it  was,  by  eleven 
the  next  morning,  mostly  melted  away  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  except  in 
several  places  in  Bushy  Park,  where  there  were  drains  dug  and  covered  with 
earth,  on  which  the  snow  continued  to  lie,  whether  those  drains  were  full 
of  water  or  dry ;  as  also  where  elm-pipes  lay  under  ground :  a  plain  proof 
this,  that  those  drains  intercepted  the  warmth  of  the  earth  from  ascending 
from  greater  depths  below  them ;  for  the  snow  lay  where  the  drain  had  more 
than  four  feet  depth  of  earth  over  it.  It  continued  also  to  lie  on  thatch, 
tiles,  and  the  tops  of  walls."  See  Hale's  "  Haemastatics,"  p.  360.  Query, 
Might  not  such  observations  be  reduced  to  domestic  use,  by  promoting  the 
discovery  of  old  obliterated  drains  and  wells  about  houses  ;  and  in  Roman 
stations  and  camps  lead  to  the  finding  of  pavements,  baths  and  graves,  and 
other  hidden  relics  of  curious  antiquity?  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   VII 

Though  large  herds  of  deer  do  much  harm  to  the  neigh- 
borhood, yet  the  injury  to  the  morals  of  the  people  is  of  more 
moment  than  the  loss  of  their  crops.     The  temptation  is  irre- 
sistible ;  for  most  men  are  sportsmen  by  constitution :  and 
3 


l8  WHITE 

there  is  such  an  inherent  spirit  for  hunting  in  human  nature, 
as  scarce  any  inhibitions  can  restrain.  Hence,  towards  the 
beginning  of  this  century  all  this  country  was  wild  about  deer- 
stealing.  Unless  he  was  a  hunter,  as  they  affected  to  call 
themselves,  no  young  person  was  allowed  to  be  possessed  of 
manhood  or  gallantry.  The  Waltham  blacks  at  length  com- 
mitted such  enormities,  that  government  was  forced  to  interfere 
with  that  severe  and  sanguinary  act  called  the  "  Black  Act,"  ^ 
which  now  comprehends  more  felonies  than  any  law  that  ever 
was  framed  before.  And,  therefore,  a  late  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, when  urged  to  re-stock  Waltham  Chase,^  refused,  from 
a  motive  worthy  of  a  prelate,  replying  "  that  it  had  done  mis- 
chief enough  already." 

Our  old  race  of  deer-stealers  is  hardly  extinct  yet :  it  was  but 
a  little  while  ago  that,  over  their  ale,  they  used  to  recount  the 
exploits  of  their  youth ;  such  as  watching  the  pregnant  hind 
to  her  lair,  and,  when  the  calf  was  dropped,  paring  its  feet  with 
a  penknife  to  the  quick  to  prevent  its  escape,  till  it  was  large 
and  fat  enough  to  be  killed  ;  the  shooting  at  one  of  their  neigh- 
bors with  a  bullet  in  a  turnip-field  by  moonshine,  mistaking 
him  for  a  deer ;  and  the  losing  a  dog  in  the  following  extraor- 
dinary manner:  Some  fellows,  suspecting  that  a  calf  new-fallen 
was  deposited  in  a  certain  spot  of  thick  fern,  went,  with  a 
lurcher,  to  surprise  it ;  when  the  parent-hind  rushed  out  of  the 
brake,  and,  taking  a  vast  spring  with  all  her  feet  close  together, 
pitched  upon  the  neck  of  the  dog,  and  broke  it  short  in  two.^ 

Another  temptation  to  idleness  and  sporting  was  a  number 
of  rabbits,  which  possessed  all  the  hillocks  and  dry  places :  but 
these  being  inconvenient  to  the  huntsmen,  on  account  of  their 
burrows,  when  they  came  to  take  away  the  deer,  they  permitted 
the  country-people  to  destroy  them  all. 

Such  forests  and  wastes,  when  their  allurements  to  irregu- 
larities are  removed,  are  of  considerable  service  to  neighbor- 
hoods that  verge  upon  them,  by  furnishing  them  with  peat  and 
turf  for  their  firing ;  with  fuel  for  the  burning  their  lime ;  and 
with  ashes  for  their  grasses  ;  and  by  maintaining  their  geese 
and  their  stock  of  young  cattle  at  little  or  no  expense. 

The  manor  farm  of  the  parish  of  Greatham  has  an  admitted 
claim,  I  see  (by  an  old  record  taken  from  the  Tower  of  Lon- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  19 

don),  of  turning  all  live  stock  on  the  forest,  at  proper  sea- 
sons, "  bidentibus  exceptis."  *  The  reason,  I  presume,  why 
sheep  ^  are  excluded,  is,  because,  being  such  close  grazers, 
they  would  pick  out  all  the  finest  grasses,  and  hinder  the  deer 
from  thriving. 

Though  (by  statute  4  and  5  W.  and  Mary,  c,  23)  "  to  burn 
on  any  waste,  between  Candlemas  and  Midsummer,  any  grig, 
ling,  heath  and  furze,  goss  or  fern,  is  punishable  with  whipping 
and  confinement  in  the  house  of  correction  ;  "  yet,  in  this  forest, 
about  March  or  April,  according  to  the  dryness  of  the  season, 
such  vast  heath-fires  are  lighted  up,  that  they  often  get  to  a 
masterless  head,  and,  catching  the  hedges,  have  sometimes 
been  communicated  to  the  underwoods,  woods,  and  coppices, 
where  great  damage  has  ensued.  The  plea  for  these  burnings 
is,  that,  when  the  old  coat  of  heath,  etc.,  is  consumed,  young 
will  sprout  up,  and  afford  much  tender  browse  for  cattle ;  but, 
where  there  is  large  old  furze,  the  fire,  following  the  roots, 
consumes  the  very  ground  ;  so  that  for  hundreds  of  acres  noth- 
ing is  to  be  seen  but  smother  and  desolation,  the  whole  circuit 
round  looking  like  the  cinders  of  a  volcano  ;  and,  the  soil  being 
quite  exhausted,  no  traces  of  vegetation  are  to  be  found  for 
years.^  These  conflagrations,  as  they  take  place  usually  with 
a  northeast  or  east  wind,  much  annoy  this  village  with  their 
smoke,  and  often  alarm  the  country ;  and,  once  in  particular, 
I  remember  that  a  gentleman,  who  lives  beyond  Andover, 
coming  to  my  house,  when  he  got  on  the  downs  between  that 
town  and  Winchester,  at  twenty-five  miles'  distance,  was  sur- 
prised much  with  smoke  and  a  hot  smell  of  fire;  and  concluded 
that  Alresford  was  in  flames;  but,  when  he  came  to  that  town, 
he  then  had  apprehensions  for  the  next  village,  and  so  on  to 
the  end  of  his  journey. 

On  two  of  the  most  conspicuous  eminences  of  this  forest 
stand  two  arbors  or  bowers,  made  of  the  boughs  of  oak ;  the 
one  called  Waldon  Lodge,  the  other  Brimstone  Lodge :  these 
the  keepers  renew  annually  on  the  feast  of  St.  Barnabas,  tak- 
ing the  old  materials  for  a  perquisite.  The  farm  called  Black- 
moor,  in  this  parish,  is  obliged  to  find  the  posts  and  brush-wood 
for  the  former ;  while  the  farms  at  Greatham,  in  rotation,  fur- 
nish for  the  latter;  and  are  all  enjoined  to  cut  and  deliver  the 


20  WHITE 

materials  at  the  spot.     This  custom  I  mention,  because  I  look 
upon  it  to  be  of  very  remote  antiquity. 

Notes 

1  Statute  9  Geo.  I.  cap.  22.  —  G.  W. 

2  This  chase  remains  unstocked  to  this  day ;  the  bishop  was  Dr. 
Hoadly.  — G.  W. 

8  Deer  will  attack  serpents  by  jumping  on  them  with  all  four  feet  at  once, 
and  I  have  seen  sheep  serve  obnoxious  objects  in  the  same  way.  —  G.  C.  D. 

*  For  this  privilege  the  owners  of  that  estate  used  to  pay  to  the  king 
annually  seven  bushels  of  oats.  —  G.  W. 

^  In  the  Holt,  where  a  full  stock  of  fallow-deer  has  been  kept  up  till  lately, 
no  sheep  are  admitted  to  this  day.  —  G.  W. 

^  On  the  Welsh  hills  these  conflagrations  continually  take  place,  and  are 
very  splendid  at  night.  It  is  often  expedient  to  burn  a  patch  of  gorse  or 
heather  for  the  sake  of  the  sheep ;  but  when  the  fire  gets  beyond  control, 
as  it  sometimes  does,  the  mischief  done  is  enormous.  The  conical  hill  in 
the  Vale  of  Llangollen,  known  as  Crow  Castle,  clothed  on  three  sides  with 
fir  plantations,  once  caught  fire,  and  from  base  to  summit  was  a  mass  of 
flames,  that  lit  up  the  country  for  miles  by  night,  and  shaded  the  valley 
with  its  smoke  by  day.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER  VIII 

On  the  verge  of  the  forest,  as  it  is  now  circumscribed,  are 
three  considerable  lakes,  two  in  Oakhanger,  of  which  I  have 
nothing  particular  to  say ;  and  one  called  Bin's,  or  Bean's 
Pond,  which  is  worthy  the  attention  of  a  naturalist  or  a  sports- 
man. For,  being  crowded  at  the  upper  end  with  willows,  and 
with  the  carex  cespitosa,^  it  affords  such  a  safe  and  pleasing 
shelter  to  wild  ducks,  teals,  snipes,  etc.,  that  they  breed  there. 
In  the  winter  this  covert  is  also  frequented  by  foxes,  and  some- 
times by  pheasants ;  and  the  bogs  produce  many  curious  plants. 
(For  which  consult  Letter  XLI.  to  Mr.  Barrington.) 

By  a  perambulation  of  Wolmer  Forest  and  the  Holt,  made 
in  1635,  and  the  eleventh  year  of  Charles  I.  (which  now  lies 
before  me),  it  appears  that  the  limits  of  the  former  are  much 
circumscribed.  For,  to  say  nothing  of  the  farther  side,  with 
which  I  am  not  so  well  acquainted,  the  bounds  on  this  side,  in 
old  times,  came  into  Binswood ;  and  extended  to  the  ditch  of 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  21 

Ward  le  Ham  Park,  in  which  stands  the  curious  mount  called 
King  John's  Hill,  and  Lodge  Hill ;  and  to  the  verge  of  Hart- 
ley Mauduit,  called  Mauduit  Hatch;  comprehending  also 
Short  Heath,  Oakhanger,  and  Oakwoods ;  a  large  district,  now- 
private  property,  though  once  belonging  to  the  royal  domain. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  term  purlieu  is  never  once  men- 
tioned in  this  long  roll  of  parchment.  It  contains,  besides  the 
perambulation,  a  rough  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  timbers, 
which  were  considerable,  growing  at  that  time  in  the  district 
of  the  Holt ;  and  enumerates  the  officers,  superior  and  infe- 
rior, of  those  joint  forests,  for  the  time  being,  and  their  osten- 
sible fees  and  perquisites.  In  those  days,  as  at  present,  there 
were  hardly  any  trees  in  Wolmer  Forest. 

Within  the  present  limits  of  the  forest  are  three  considera- 
ble lakes,  Hogmer,  Cranmer,  and  Wolmer ;  all  of  which  are 
stocked  with  carp,  tench,  eels,  and  perch :  but  the  fish  do  not 
thrive  well,  because  the  water  is  hungry,  and  the  bottoms  are 
a  naked  sand. 

A  circumstance  respecting  these  ponds,  though  by  no  means 
peculiar  to  them,  I  cannot  pass  over  in  silence ;  and  that  is, 
that  instinct  by  which  in  summer  all  the  kine,  whether  oxen, 
cows,  calves,  or  heifers,  retire  constantly  to  the  water  during 
the  hotter  hours ;  where,  being  more  exempt  from  flies,  and 
inhaling  the  coolness  of  that  element,  some  belly  deep,  and 
some  only  to  mid-leg,  they  ruminate  and  solace  themselves 
from  about  ten  in  the  morning  till  four  in  the  afternoon,  and 
then  return  to  their  feeding.  During  this  great  proportion  of 
the  day  they  drop  much  dung,  in  which  insects  nestle ;  and  so 
supply  food  for  the  fish,  which  would  be  poorly  subsisted  but 
from  this  contingency.  Thus  Nature,  who  is  a  great  econo- 
mist, converts  the  recreation  of  one  animal  to  the  support  of 
another  !  Thomson,  who  was  a  nice  observer  of  natural  occur- 
rences, did  not  let  this  pleasing  circumstance  escape  him.  He 
says,  in  his  "  Summer," 

"A  various  group  the  herds  and  flocks  compose ; 

on  the  grassy  bank 

Some  ruminating  lie  ;  while  others  stand 
Half  in  the  flood,  and,  often  bending,  sip 
The  circling  surface." 


22  WHITE 

Wolmer  Pond,  so  called,  I  suppose,  for  eminence'  sake,  is 
a  vast  lake  for  this  part  of  the  world,  containing,  in  its  whole 
circumference,  2,646  yards,  or  very  near  a  mile  and  a  half. 
The  length  of  the  north-west  and  opposite  side  is  about  704 
yards,  and  the  breadth  of  the  south-west  end  about  456  yards. 
This  measurement,  which  I  caused  to  be  made  with  good  ex- 
actness, gives  an  area  of  about  sixty-six  acres,  exclusive  of  a 
large  irregular  arm  at  the  north-east  corner,  which  we  did  not 
take  into  the  reckoning. 

On  the  face  of  this  expanse  of  waters,  and  perfectly  secure 
from  fowlers,  lie  all  day  long,  in  the  winter  season,  vast  flocks 
of  ducks,  teals,  and  widgeons,  of  various  denominations ;  where 
they  preen  and  solace,  and  rest  themselves,  till  towards  sunset, 
when  they  issue  forth  in  little  parties  (for  in  their  natural  state 
they  are  all  birds  of  the  night)  to  feed  in  the  brooks  and  mead- 
ows ;  returning  again  with  the  dawn  of  the  morning.  Had 
this  lake  an  arm  or  two  more,  and  were  it  planted  round  with 
thick  covert  (for  now  it  is  perfectly  naked),  it  might  make  a 
valuable  decoy. 

Yet  neither  its  extent,  nor  the  clearness  of  its  water,  nor 
the  resort  of  various  and  curious  fowls,  nor  its  picturesque 
groups  of  cattle,  can  render  this  meer  so  remarkable  as  the 
great  quantity  of  coins  that  were  found  in  its  bed  about  forty 
years  ago.  But,  as  such  discoveries  more  properly  belong  to 
the  antiquities  of  this  place,  I  shall  suppress  all  particulars  for 
the  present,  till  I  enter  professedly  on  my  series  of  letters 
respecting  the  more  remote  history  of  this  village  and  district. 

Note 

*  I  mean  that  sort  which,  rising  into  tall  hassocks,  is  called  by  the  for- 
esters torrets  ;  a  corruption,  I  suppose,  of  turrets.  —  G.  W. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  summer  of  1787,  the  royal  forests  of  Wolmer  and 
Holt  were  measured  by  persons  sent  down  by  government.  —  G.  W. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  23 


LETTER   IX 

By  way  of  supplement,  I  shall  trouble  you  once  more  on 
this  subject,  to  inform  you  that  Wolmer,  with  her  sister  forest 
Ayles  Holt,  alias  Alice  Holt,^  as  it  is  called  in  old  records,  is 
held  by  grant  from  the  crown  for  a  term  of  years. 

The  grantees  that  the  author  remembers  are  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Emanuel  Scroope  Howe,  and  his  lady,  Ruperta,  who  was 
a  natural  daughter  of  Prince  Rupert  by  Margaret  Hughes ;  a 
Mr.  Mordaunt,  of  the  Peterborough  family,  who  married  a 
dowager  Lady  Pembroke ;  Henry  Bilson  Legge  and  lady ; 
and  now  Lord  Stawell,  their  son. 

The  lady  of  General  Howe  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  long 
surviving  her  husband ;  and,  at  her  death,  left  behind  her 
many  curious  pieces  of  mechanism  of  her  father's  construct- 
ing, who  was  a  distinguished  mechanic  and  artist,^  as  well  as 
warrior ;  and  among  the  rest,  a  very  complicated  clock,  lately 
in  possession  of  Mr.  Elmer,  the  celebrated  game  painter  at 
Farnham,  in  the  county  of  Surrey. 

Though  these  two  forests  are  only  parted  by  a  narrow  range 
of  enclosures,  yet  no  two  soils  can  be  more  different ;  for  the 
Holt  consists  of  a  strong  loam,  of  a  miry  nature,  carrying  a 
good  turf,  and  abounding  with  oaks  that  grow  to  be  large  tim- 
ber; while  Wolmer  is  nothing  but  a  hungry,  sandy,  barren 
waste. 

The  former  being  all  in  the  parish  of  Binsted,  is  about  two 
miles  in  extent  from  north  to  south,  and  near  as  much  from 
east  to  west ;  and  contains  within  it  many  wood-lands  and 
lawns,  and  the  great  lodge  where  the  grantees  reside,  and  a 
smaller  lodge  called  Goose  Green ;  and  is  abutted  on  by  the 
parishes  of  Kingsley,  Frinsham,  Farnham,  and  Bentley  ;  all  of 
which  have  right  of  common. 

One  thing  is  remarkable,  that  though  the  Holt  has  been  of 
old  well  stocked  with  fallow-deer,  unrestrained  by  any  pales 
or  fences  more  than  a  common  hedge,  yet  they  were  never 
seen  within  the  limits  of  Wolmer ;  nor  were  the  red  deer  of 
Wolmer  ever  known  to  haunt  the  thickets  or  glades  of  the 
Holt 


24  WHITE 

At  present  the  deer  of  the  Holt  are  much  thinned  and  re- 
duced by  the  night  hunters,  who  perpetually  harass  them  in 
spite  of  the  efforts  of  numerous  keepers,  and  the  severe  penal- 
ties that  have  been  put  in  force  against  them  as  often  as  they 
have  been  detected,  and  rendered  liable  to  the  lash  of  the  law. 
Neither  fines  nor  imprisonments  can  deter  them  ;  so  impossi- 
ble is  it  to  extinguish  the  spirit  of  sporting  which  seems  to  be 
inherent  in  human  nature. 

General  Howe  turned  out  some  German  wild  boars  and 
sows  in  his  forests,  to  the  great  terror  of  the  neighborhood, 
and,  at  one  time,  a  wild  bull  or  buffalo ;  but  the  country  rose 
upon  them  and  destroyed  them. 

A  very  large  fall  of  timber,  consisting  of  about  one  thou- 
sand oaks,  has  been  cut  this  spring  (viz.,  1784)  in  the  Holt 
forest :  one-fifth  of  which,  it  is  said,  belongs  to  the  grantee, 
Lord  Stawell.  He  lays  claim  also  to  the  lop  and  top ;  but 
the  poor  of  the  parishes  of  Binsted  and  Frinsham,  Bentley 
and  Kingsley,  assert  that  it  belongs  to  them,  and  assembling 
in  a  riotous  manner,  have  actually  taken  it  all  away.  One 
man,  who  keeps  a  team,  has  carried  home  for  his  share  forty 
stacks  of  wood.  Forty-five  of  these  people  his  lordship  has 
served  with  actions.  These  trees,  which  were  very  sound  and 
in  high  perfection,  were  winter-cut,  viz.,  in  February  and 
March,  before  the  bark  would  run.  In  old  times  the  Holt 
was  estimated  to  be  eighteen  miles,  computed  measure  from 
water-carriage,  viz.,  from  the  town  of  Chertsey,  on  the  Thames; 
but  now  it  is  not  half  that  distance,  since  the  Wey  is  made  navi- 
gable up  to  the  town  of  Godalming  in  the  county  of  Surrey. 

Notes 

1  "  In  Rot.  Inquisit.  de  statu  forest,  in  Scaccar.  36  Edw.  III.,  it  is  called 
Aisholt."  — G.  W. 

In  the  same,  "Tit.  Woolmer  and  Aisholt  Hantisc.  Dominus  Rex  habet 
unam  capellam  in  haia  sua  de  Kingesle."  "  Haia,  sepes,  sepimentum,  parous ; 
a  Gall,  haie  and  haye."      Spelman's  Glossary.  —  G.  W. 

2  This  prince  was  the  inventor  of  mezzotinto.  —  G.  W. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  2$ 

LETTER   X 

Augitst  ^h,  1767. 

It  has  been  my  misfortune  never  to  have  had  any  neigh- 
bors whose  studies  have  led  them  towards  the  pursuit  of  nat- 
ural knowledge ;  so  that,  for  want  of  a  companion  to  quicken 
my  industry  and  sharpen  my  attention,  I  have  made  but  slen- 
der progress  in  a  kind  of  information  to  which  I  have  been 
attached  from  my  childhood. 

As  to  swallows  {Jiirundines  nistic(2)  being  found  in  a  torpid 
state  during  the  winter  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  or  any  other  part 
of  this  county,  I  never  heard  any  such  account  worth  attend- 
ing to.  But  a  clergyman,  of  an  inquisitive  turn,  assures  me,  that 
when  he  was  a  great  boy,  some  workmen,  in  pulling  down  the 
battlements  of  a  church  tower  early  in  the  spring,  found  two 
or  three  swifts  (Jiirundines  apodes)  among  the  rubbish,  which 
were  at  first  appearance  dead,  but  on  being  carried  towards 
the  fire  revived.  He  told  me,  that  out  of  his  great  care  to  pre- 
serve them,  he  put  them  in  a  paper  bag,  and  hung  them  by 
the  kitchen  fire,  where  they  were  suffocated. 

Another  intelligent  person  has  informed  me,  that  while  he 
was  a  schoolboy  at  Brighthelmstone,  in  Sussex,  a  great  frag- 
ment of  the  chalk  cliff  fell  down  one  stormy  winter  on  the 
beach,  and  that  many  people  found  swallows  among  the  rub- 
bish ;  but  on  my  questioning  him  whether  he  saw  any  of  those 
birds  himself,  to  my  no  small  disappointment,  he  answered  me 
in  the  negative ;  but  that  others  assured  him  they  did. 

Young  broods  of  swallows  began  to  appear  this  year  on 
July  nth,  and  young  martins  {Jiirundines  iirbicce)  were  then 
fledged  in  their  nests.  Both  species  will  breed  again  once. 
For  I  see  by  my  fauna  of  last  year,  that  young  broods  came 
forth  so  late  as  September  i8th.  Are  not  these  late  hatchings 
more  in  favor  of  hiding  than  migration }  Nay,  some  young 
martins  remained  in  their  nests  last  year  so  late  as  Septem- 
ber 29th  ;  and  yet  they  totally  disappeared  with  us  by  the  5th 
October. 

How  strange  it  is  that  the  swift,  which  seems  to  live  exactly 
the  same  life  with  the  swallow  and  house-martin,  should  leave 
us  before  the  middle  of  August  invariably !  while  the  latter 


26  WHITE 

Stay  often  till  the  middle  of  October ;  and  once  I  saw  numbers 
of  house-martins  on  the  7th  November.  The  martins  and  red- 
wing fieldfares  were  flying  in  sight  together,  an  uncommon 
assemblage  of  summer  and  winter  birds  ! 

A  little  yellow  bird  ^  (it  is  either  a  species  of  the  alauda  tri- 
vialis,  or  rather  perhaps  of  the  motacilla  trochihis)  still  con- 
tinues to  make  a  sibilous  shivering  noise  in  the  tops  of  tall 
woods.  The  stoparola  of  Ray  (for  which  we  have  as  yet  no 
name  in  these  parts)  is  called  in  your  zoology  the  fly-catcher. 
There  is  one  circumstance  characteristic  of  this  bird  which 
seems  to  have  escaped  observation,  and  that  is,  it  takes  its  stand 
on  the  top  of  some  stake  or  post,  from  whence  it  springs  forth 
on  its  prey,  catching  a  fly  in  the  air,  and  hardly  ever  touching 
the  ground,  but  returning  still  to  the  same  stand  for  many  times 
together.''^ 

I  perceive  there  are  more  than  one  species  of  the  motacilla 
trochihis.  Mr.  Derham  supposes,  in  "  Ray's  Philos.  Letters," 
that  he  has  discovered  three.  In  these  there  is  again  an  in- 
stance of  some  very  common  birds  that  have  as  yet  no  English 
name. 

Mr.  Stillingfleet  makes  a  question  whether  the  black-cap 
{motacilla  atvicapilld)  be  a  bird  of  passage  or  not  ^ :  I  think 
there  is  no  doubt  of  it :  for,  in  April,  in  the  first  fine  weather, 
they  come  trooping  all  at  once,  into  these  parts,  but  are  never 
seen  in  the  winter.     They  are  delicate  songsters. 

Numbers  of  snipes  breed  every  summer  in  some  moory 
ground  on  the  verge  of  this  parish.  It  is  very  amusing  to  see 
the  cock  bird  on  wing  at  that  time,  and  to  hear  his  piping  and 
humming  notes.* 

I  have  had  no  opportunity  yet  of  procuring  any  of  those 
mice  which  I  mentioned  to  you  in  town.  The  person  that 
brought  me  the  last  says  they  are  plenty  in  harvest,  at  which 
time  I  will  take  care  to  get  more ;  and  will  endeavor  to  put 
the  matter  out  of  doubt,  whether  it  be  a  nondescript  species 
or  not. 

I  suspect  much  there  may  be  two  species  of  water-rats.^  Ray 
says,  and  Linnaeus  after  him,  that  the  water-rat  is  web-footed 
behind.  Now  I  have  discovered  a  rat  on  the  banks  of  our  little 
stream  that  is  not  web-footed,  and  yet  is  an  excellent  swimmer 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  2/ 

and  diver :  it  answers  exactly  to  the  vius  aniphibius  of  Linnaeus 
(see  Syst.  TVh'/.)  which  he  says  "  natat  ififossis  et  urinatjir."  I 
should  be  glad  to  procure  one  ^'plantis  palmatis."  Linnaeus 
seems  to  be  in  a  puzzle  about  his  mus  ampJiibuis,  and  to  doubt 
whether  it  differs  from  his  imis  terrestris  ;  which  if  it  be,  as  he 
allows,  the  ^^miis  agrestis  capite  grandi  brachyuros^'  of  Ray, 
is  widely  different  from  the  water-rat,  both  in  size,  make,  and 
manner  of  life. 

As  to  the/^/<:^,  which  I  mentioned  in  town,  I  shall  take  the 
liberty  to  send  it  down  to  you  into  Wales  ;  presuming  on  your 
candor,  that  you  will  excuse  me  if  it  should  appear  as  familiar 
to  you  as  it  is  strange  to  me.  Though  mutilated  "  qualem  dices 
.  .  .  antehac  fiiisse,  tales  cinn  sint  reliqiiice  !'' 

It  haunted  a  marshy  piece  of  ground  in  quest  of  wild-ducks 
and  snipes;  but,  when  it  was  shot,  had  just  knocked  down  a 
rook,  which  it  was  tearing  in  pieces.  I  cannot  make  it  answer 
to  any  of  our  English  hawks ;  neither  could  I  find  any  like  it 
at  the  curious  exhibition  of  stuffed  birds  in  Spring  Gardens. 
I  found  it  nailed  up  at  the  end  of  a  barn,  which  is  the  country- 
man's museum.^ 

The  parish  I  live  in  is  a  very  abrupt,  uneven  country,  full  of 
hills  and  woods,  and  therefore  full  of  birds. 

Notes 

^  Possibly  the  Grasshopper  Warbler.  This  little  bird  has  a  peculiar 
sibilant  warble,  which,  like  the  cry  of  the  corncrake,  is  apparently  ventrilo- 
quous.  The  sound  seems  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  and  it  is  only  by  the 
closest  observation  and  the  greatest  caution  that  a  sight  of  the  tiny  songster 
can  be  obtained.  —  G.  C.  D. 

-  In  the  verandah  of  my  father's  house  in  Shropshire,  four  or  five  pairs 
of  fly-catchers  used  to  build,  and  there  were  other  nests  on  a  ledge  in  the 
orchard  wall,  so  that  in  the  summer  the  standard  roses  and  the  gateposts 
each  had  a  fly-catcher  using  it  as  a  raiding-point.  The  birds  which  rested 
in  the  verandah  took  not  the  slightest  notice  of  people  passing  and  repass- 
ing. Sparrows,  wrens,  and  chaffinches  also  nested  among  the  roses  which 
trailed  up  it.  —  G.  C.  D. 

3  The  Black-cap  does  migrate.  —  G.  C.  D. 

*  The  humming  of  the  snipe  has  puzzled  many  a  naturalist  to  say  how  it 
was  made.  It  is  also  called  bleating,  and,  in  Norfolk,  "lamming,"  because 
the  noise  is  something  like  that  caused  by  a  lamb.  I  have  noticed  great 
numbers  of  snipe  bleating  on  the  Norfolk  Roads,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  it 
is  made  by  the  rapid  vibration  of  the  long  feathers  of  the  tail  and  wings. 


28  WHITE 

The  sound  is  only  made  when  the  snipe  is  in  the  air  and  descending  a  little, 
rapidly,  in  an  oblique  direction  against  the  wind.  —  G.  C.  D. 

5  There  is  only  one  species  of  water-rat,  and  strictly  speaking  it  is  not 
a  rat.  It  differs  anatomically  and  in  its  mode  of  life  from  the  rat.  Its  proper 
name  is  the  water-vole.  Its  feet  are  not  webbed.  Its  food  is  entirely  vege- 
table, while  the  common  rat,  which  is  found  in  numbers  by  the  waterside, 
will  eat  fish  or  animal  matter.  Of  the  rat  proper  there  are  two  species,  the 
original  black  English  rat,  which  is  exceedingly  rare,  and  the  Norway  rat, 
which  is  the  one  now  so  common.  It  has  completely  ousted  the  black 
rat.  — G.  C.  D. 

^  This  hawk  was  apparently  a  variety  of  the  Peregrine  Falcon.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XI 

Selborne,  Septe7nber  ()th,  1767. 

It  will  not  be  without  impatience  that  I  shall  wait  for  your 
thoughts  with  regard  to  Vatfalco;  as  to  its  weight,  breadth, 
etc.,  I  wish  I  had  set  them  down  at  the  time ;  but,  to  the  best 
of  my  remembrance,  it  weighed  two  pounds  and  eight  ounces, 
and  measured,  from  wing  to  wing,  thirty-eight  inches.  Its  cere 
and  feet  were  yellow,  and  the  circle  of  its  eyelids  a  bright  yellow. 
As  it  had  been  killed  some  days,  and  the  eyes  were  sunk,  I 
could  make  no  good  observation  on  the  color  of  the  pupils  and 
the  irides. 

The  most  unusual  birds  I  ever  observed  in  these  parts  were 
a  pair  of  hoopoes  {iipiipd)}  which  came  several  years  ago  in 
the  summer,  and  frequented  an  ornamented  piece  of  ground, 
which  joins  to  my  garden,  for  someweeks.  They  used  to  march 
about  in  a  stately  manner,  feeding  in  the  walks,  many  times  in 
the  day ;  and  seemed  disposed  to  breed  in  my  outlet ;  but  were 
frighted  and  persecuted  by  idle  boys,  who  would  never  let  them 
be  at  rest. 

Three  grossbeaks^  {loxia  coccothranstes)  appeared  some 
years  ago  in  my  fields,  in  the  winter ;  one  of  which  I  shot. 
Since  that,  now  and  then,  one  is  occasionally  seen  in  the  same 
dead  season. 

A  crossbill  ^  {loxia  curvirostrd)  was  killed  last  year  in  this 
neighborhood. 

Our  streams,  which  are  small,  and  rise  only  at  the  end  of 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  29 

the  village,  yield  nothing  but  the  bull's  head  or  miller's  thumb* 
{gobiHs  fluviatilis  capitaUis),  the  trout  {trutta  fluviatilis),  the 
eel^  {angiiilla),  the  lampern^  {lavipcetra  parva  et  Jiiiviatilis), 
and  the  stickle-back "  {pisciculus  aadeattis). 

We  are  twenty  miles  from  the  sea,  and  almost  as  many  from 
a  great  river,  and  therefore  see  but  little  of  sea  birds.  As  to 
wild  fowls,  we  have  a  few  teems  of  ducks  bred  in  the  moors 
where  the  snipes  breed ;  and  multitudes  of  widgeons  and  teals 
in  hard  weather  frequent  our  lakes  in  the  forest. 

Having  some  acquaintance  with  a  tame  brown  owl,  I  find 
that  it  casts  up  the  fur  of  mice,  and  the  feathers  of  birds  in 
pellets,  after  the  manner  of  hawks ;  when  full,  like  a  dog,  it 
hides  what  it  cannot  eat. 

The  young  of  the  barn-owl  are  not  easily  raised,  as  they 
want  a  constant  supply  of  fresh  mice ;  whereas  the  young  of 
the  brown  owl  will  eat  indiscriminately  all  that  is  brought ; 
snails,  rats,  kittens,  puppies,  magpies,  and  any  kind  of  carrion 
or  offal. 

The  house-martins  have  eggs  still,  and  squab  young.  The 
last  swift  I  observed  was  about  the  21st  August:  it  was  a 
straggler. 

Red-starts,  fly-catchers,  white-throats,  and  regidi  non  crisiati, 
still  appear :  but  I  have  seen  no  black-caps  lately. 

I  forgot  to  mention  that  I  once  saw,  in  Christ  Church  Col- 
lege quadrangle  in  Oxford,  on  a  very  sunny  warm  morning,  a 
house-martin  flying  about,  and  settling  on  the  parapet,  so  late 
as  the  20th  November. 

At  present  I  know  only  two  species  of  bats,  the  common 
vespertilio  imirhms  and  the  vespertilio  auribus.^ 

I  was  much  entertained  last  summer  with  a  tame  bat,  which 
would  take  flies  out  of  a  person's  hand.  If  you  gave  it  any- 
thing to  eat,  it  brought  its  wings  round  before  the  mouth,  hov- 
ering and  hiding  its  head  in  the  manner  of  birds  of  prey  when 
they  feed.  The  adroitness  it  showed  in  shearing  off  the  wings 
of  the  flies,  which  are  always  rejected,  was  worthy  of  observa- 
tion, and  pleased  me  much.  Insects  seemed  to  be  most  ac- 
ceptable, though  it  did  not  refuse  raw  flesh  when  offered ;  so 
that  the  notion,  that  bats  go  down  chimneys  and  gnaw  men's 
bacon,  seems  no  improbable  story.     While  I  amused  myself 


30  WHITE 

with  this  wonderful  quadruped,  I  saw  it  several  times  confute 
the  vulgar  opinion,  that  bats  when  down  upon  a  fiat  surface 
cannot  get  on  the  wing  again,  by  rising  with  great  ease  from 
the  floor.  It  ran,  I  observed,  with  more  despatch  than  I  was 
aware  of ;  but  in  a  most  ridiculous  and  grotesque  manner. 

Bats  drink  on  the  wing,  like  swallows,  by  sipping  the  sur- 
face, as  they  play  over  pools  and  streams.  They  love  to  fre- 
quent waters,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  drinking,  but  on  account 
of  insects,  which  are  found  over  them  in  the  greatest  plenty. 
As  I  was  going  some  years  ago,  pretty  late,  in  a  boat  from 
Richmond  to  Sunbury,  on  a  warm  summer's  evening,  I  think 
I  saw  myriads  of  bats  between  the  two  places ;  the  air  swarmed 
with  them  all  along  the  Thames,  so  that  hundreds  were  in  sight 
at  a  time.  I  am,  etc. 

Notes 

^  One  occasionally  sees  mention  made  in  the  scientific  and  natural  his- 
tory periodicals  of  the  occurrence  of  the  hoopoe  {iipupa  epops).  Of  course 
it  is  generally  shot,  and  no  chance  is  given  it  of  breeding.  Its  nest  has 
only  rarely  been  found  in  England.  —  G.  C.  D. 

2  The  grossbeak  {coccothraustes  vulgaris),  or  as  it  is  more  commonly 
called,  the  hawfinch,  is  not  so  rare  as  is  generally  supposed.  Its  shyness 
prevents  its  being  easily  observed.  —  G.  C.  D. 

3  The  crossbill  may  occasionally  be  seen,  in  small  flocks,  in  districts 
where  the  larch  is  plentiful.  With  its  peculiar  curved  mandibles,  it  ex- 
tracts the  seeds  from  the  fir-cones.  The  birds  vary  greatly  in  size  and 
color,  according  to  age  and  sex.  They  are  3'ellow,  green,  red,  or  brown  at 
different  times,  so  if  it  were  not  for  their  crossed  bills,  it  would  be  rather 
hard  to  distinguish  them.  They  breed  in  Norway  and  Sweden,  and  very 
occasionally  in  England.  —  G.  C.  D. 

^  We  used,  when  I  was  a  boy,  to  catch  great  numbers  of  bull-heads  to 
bait  our  eel  lines  with.  They  were  found  under  every  flat  stone  in  the 
Shropshire  streams,  in  company  with  the  loach,  also  an  excellent  bait. 
—  G.  CD. 

^  It  is  now  well  known  that  there  are  three  kinds  of  eels  which  inhabit  our 
rivers  and  pools, — the  snig,  and  the  broad-nosed  and  sharp-nosed  species. 
The  habits  of  eels  are  very  peculiar.  Nothing  certain  is  known  about  their 
breeding,  but  it  is  believed  that  the  young  are  born  alive.  In  the  autumn 
the  eels  descend  the  rivers  in  vast  numbers,  and  go  either  to  sea  or  to  the 
brackish  waters,  where  they  breed.  In  the  spring  the  little  eels,  or  elvers, 
ascend  the  rivers  in  columns  so  dense  that  they  may  be  scooped  out  by  the 
bucketful.  — G.  CD. 

®  In  the  Dee  at  Llangollen,  lamperns  were  very  numerous.  They  hold 
on  to  stones  by  means  of  their  round  sucker-like  mouths,  and  can  move  very 
heavy  ones.  —  G.  C  D. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  3 1 

'  There  are  six  kinds  of  sticklebacks.  Every  one  knows  the  common 
three-finned  one.  One  kind  builds  a  fiest  among  the  weeds,  and  guards  it 
with  the  utmost  vigilance.  —  G.  C.  D. 

**  There  seem  to  be  about  twenty  species  of  British  bats.  Four  or  five 
species  are  tolerably  common.  The  squeak  made  by  the  bat  is  so  \  try  fine, 
that  while  to  some  ears  it  is  loud,  by  others  it  cannot  be  heard.  I  once, 
when  a  boy,  was  exploring  a  hollow  tree  after  owls'  nests,  when  the  smell 
from  one  particular  hole  was  so  dreadful  that  we  put  some  lighted  paper 
down  to  see  what  would  come  out ;  and  to  our  astonishment  dozens  of  large, 
reddish  bats  flew  out,  and  dashed  madly  about  in  the  bright  sunlight.  The 
bat  has  more  vermin  upon  it  than  any  other  creature  of  its  size.  It  seems 
needless  to  state  that  the  bat  is  an  animal,  and  not  a  bird  or  an  insect ;  but 
I  saw  it  gravely  stated  in  the  columns  of  a  local  journal  by  two  correspond- 
ents that  it  was  either  of  the  two  latter.  — G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XII 

November  /\th,  1767. 

Sir,  —  It  gave  me  no  small  satisfaction  to  hear  that  ih^falco 
turned  out  an  uncommon  one.  I  must  confess  I  should  have 
been  better  pleased  to  have  heard  that  I  had  sent  you  a  bird 
that  you  had  never  seen  before ;  but  that,  I  find,  would  be  a 
difficult  task. 

I  have  procured  some  of  the  mice  mentioned  in  my  former 
letters,  a  young  one  and  a  female  with  young,  both  of  which 
I  have  preserved  in  brandy.  From  the  color,  shape,  size,  and 
manner  of  nesting,  I  make  no  doubt  but  that  the  species  is 
nondescript.  They  are  much  smaller,  and  more  slender,  than 
the  nms  domestiais  medius  of  Ray  ;  and  have  more  of  the  squir- 
rel or  dormouse  color ;  their  belly  is  white,  a  straight  line  along 
their  sides  divides  the  shades  of  their  back  and  belly.  They 
never  enter  into  houses  ;  are  carried  into  ricks  and  barns  with 
the  sheaves  ;  abound  in  harvest ;  and  build  their  nests  amidst 
the  straws  of  the  corn  above  the  ground,  and  sometimes  in 
thistles.  They  breed  as  many  as  eight  at  a  litter,  in  a  little 
round  nest  composed  of  the  blades  of  grass  or  wheat.^ 

One  of  these  nests  I  procured  this  autumn,  most  artificially 
platted,  and  composed  of  the  blades  of  wheat,  perfectly  round, 
and  about  the  size  of  a  cricket-ball ;  with  the  aperture  so  in- 
geniously closed,  that  there  was  no  discovering  to  what  part 


32  WHITE 

it  belonged.  It  was  so  compact  and  well  filled,  that  it  would 
roll  across  the  table  without  being  discomposed,  though  it  con- 
tained eight  little  mice  that  were  naked  and  blind.  As  this 
nest  was  perfectly  full,  how  could  the  dam  come  at  her  litter 
respectively  so  as  to  administer  a  teat  to  each  ?  Perhaps  she 
opens  different  places  for  that  purpose,  adjusting  them  again 
when  the  business  is  over ;  but  she  could  not  possibly  be  con- 
tained herself  in  the  ball  with  her  young,  which  moreover 
would  be  daily  increasing  in  bulk.  This  wonderful  procreant 
cradle,  an  elegant  instance  of  the  efforts  of  instinct,  was  found 
in  a  wheat-field  suspended  in  the  head  of  a  thistle. 

A  gentleman,  curious  in  birds,  wrote  me  word  that  his  ser- 
vant had  shot  one  last  January,  in  that  severe  weather,  which 
he  believed  would  puzzle  me.  I  called  to  see  it  this  summer, 
not  knowing  what  to  expect,  but  the  moment  I  took  it  in  hand, 
I  pronounced  it  the  male  garriihis  bo  hernials  or  German  silk- 
tail,  from  the  five  peculiar  crimson  tags  or  points  which  it  carries 
at  the  ends  of  five  of  the  short  remiges.  It  cannot,  I  suppose, 
with  any  propriety,  be  called  an  English  bird ;  and  yet  I  see, 
by  Ray's  "  Philosophical  Letters,"  that  great  flocks  of  them, 
feeding  on  haws,  appeared  in  this  kingdom  in  the  winter  of 
1685. 

The  mention  of  haws  puts  me  in  mind  that  there  is  a  total 
failure  of  that  wild  fruit,  so  conducive  to  the  support  of  many 
of  the  winged  nation.  For  the  same  severe  weather,  late  in 
the  spring,  which  cut  off  all  the  produce  of  the  more  tender 
and  curious  trees,  destroyed  also  that  of  the  more  hardy  and 
common. 

Some  birds,  haunting  with  the  missel-thrushes,  and  feeding 
on  the  berries  of  the  yew  tree,  which  answered  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  merula  torqiiata,  or  ring-ousel,  were  lately  seen  in 
this  neighborhood.  I  employed  some  people  to  procure  me  a 
specimen,  but  without  success.     (See  Letter  VIII.) 

Query.  —  Might  not  canary  birds  be  naturalized  to  this  cli- 
mate, provided  their  eggs  were  put,  in  the  spring,  into  the  nests 
of  some  of  their  congeners,  as  goldfinches,  greenfinches,  etc. } 
Before  winter  perhaps  they  might  be  hardened,  and  able  to 
shift  for  themselves. 

About  ten  years  ago  I  used  to  spend  some  weeks  yearly  at 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  33 

Sunbury,  which  is  one  of  those  pleasant  villages  lying  on  the 
Thames,  near  Hampton  Court.  In  the  autumn,  I  could  not 
help  being  much  amused  with  those  myriads  of  the  swallow 
kind  which  assemble  in  those  parts.  But  what  struck  me  most 
was,  that,  from  the  time  they  began  to  congregate,  forsaking 
the  chimneys  and  houses,  they  roosted  every  night  in  the  osier- 
beds  of  the  aits  of  that  river.^  Now  this  resorting  towards  that 
element,  at  that  season  of  the  year,  seems  to  give  some  coun- 
tenance to  the  northern  opinion  (strange  as  it  is)  of  their  re- 
tiring under  water.  A  Swedish  naturalist  is  so  much  persuaded 
of  that  fact,  that  he  talks,  in  his  calendar  of  Flora,  as  familiarly 
of  the  swallow's  going  under  water  in  the  beginning  of  Sep- 
tember, as  he  would  of  his  poultry  going  to  roost  a  little  before 
sunset. 

An  observing  gentleman  in  London  writes  me  word  that  he 
saw  a  house-martin,  on  the  twenty-third  of  last  October,  flying 
in  and  out  of  its  nest  in  the  Borough.  And  I  myself,  on  the 
twenty-ninth  of  last  October  (as  I  was  travelling  through  Ox- 
ford), saw  four  or  five  swallows  hovering  round  and  settling 
on  the  roof  of  the  county  hospital. 

Now  is  it  likely  that  these  poor  little  birds  (which  perhaps 
had  not  been  hatched  but  a  few  weeks)  should,  at  that  late 
season  of  the  year,  and  from  so  midland  a  county,  attempt  a 
voyage  to  Goree  or  Senegal,  almost  as  far  as  the  equator  ?  ^ 

I  acquiesce  entirely  in  your  opinion — that,  though  most  of 
the  swallow  kind  may  migrate,  yet  that  some  do  stay  behind 
and  hide  with  us  during  the  winter. 

As  to  the  short-winged,  soft-billed  birds,  which  come  troop- 
ing in  such  numbers  in  the  spring,  I  am  at  a  loss  even  what 
to  suspect  about  them.  I  watched  them  narrowly  this  year,  and 
saw  them  abound  till  about  Michaelmas,  when  they  appeared 
no  longer.  Subsist  they  cannot  openly  among  us,  and  yet 
elude  the  eyes  of  the  inquisitive :  and,  as  to  their  hiding,  no 
man  pretends  to  have  found  any  of  them  in  a  torpid  state  in 
the  winter.  But  with  regard  to  their  migration,  what  difficulties 
attend  that  supposition  !  that  such  feeble,  bad  fliers  (who  the 
summer  long  never  flit  but  from  hedge  to  hedge)  should  be  able 
to  traverse  vast  seas  and  continents  in  order  to  enjoy  milder 
seasons  amidst  the  regions  of  Africa ! 
4 


34  WHITE 


Notes 


^  The  harvest  mouse  is  the  smallest  of  British  animals.  Unlike  its  rela- 
tives, it  builds  its  nest  on  the  stalks  of  grass  or  corn  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  ground.  The  nest  is  globular  in  shape,  made  of  vi^oven  grass,  and  has 
a  small  entrance  like  that  of  a  wren's.  It  is  tolerably  common  in  some  of 
the  southern  counties,  but  it  is  not  easily  found.  —  G.  C.  D. 

2  There  was  a  pool  in  Shropshire  where  I  used  to  fish  for  roach,  and  I 
was  always  struck  with  the  number  of  swallows  which  roosted  on  the  willow 
bushes  fringing  the  banks.  One  could  almost  take  them  in  one's  hand.  At 
Acle,  in  Norfolk,  one  August,  the  swallows  roosted  on  the  telegraph  wires 
in  such  extraordinary  numbers  that  they  formed  continuous  black  festoons 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  —  G.  C.  D. 

*  See  Adanson's  "Voyage  to  Senegal."  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XIII 

Selborne,  Jan.  22ttd,  1768. 

Sir,  —  As  in  one  of  your  former  letters  you  expressed  the 
more  satisfaction  from  my  correspondence  on  account  of  my  liv- 
ing in  the  most  southerly  county ;  so  now  I  may  return  the 
compliment,  and  expect  to  have  my  curiosity  gratified  by  your 
living  much  more  to  the  North. 

For  many  years  past  I  have  observed  that  towards  Christ- 
mas vast  flocks  of  chaffinches  have  appeared  in  the  fields ; 
many  more,  I  used  to  think,  than  could  be  hatched  in  any  one 
neighborhood.  But,  when  I  came  to  observe  them  more  nar- 
rowly, I  was  amazed  to  find  that  they  seemed  to  me  to  be  almost 
all  hens.  I  communicated  my  suspicions  to  some  intelligent 
neighbors,  who,  after  taking  pains  about  the  matter,  declared 
that  they  also  thought  them  mostly  females,  —  at  least  fifty  to 
one.  This  extraordinary  occurrence  brought  to  my  mind  the 
remark  of  Linnaeus,  that  "  before  winter  all  their  hen  chaf- 
finches migrate  through  Holland  into  Italy."  Now  I  want  to 
know,  from  some  curious  person  in  the  north,  whether  there 
are  any  large  flocks  of  these  finches  with  them  in  the  winter, 
and  of  which  sex  they  mostly  consist .?  For  from  such  intelli- 
gence, one  might  be  able  to  judge  whether  our  female  flocks 
migrate  from  the  other  end  of  the  island,  or  whether  they  come 
over  to  us  from  the  continent. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  35 

We  have,  in  the  winter,  vast  flocks  of  the  common  linnets ; 
more,  I  think,  than  can  be  bred  in  any  one  district.  These,  I 
observe,  when  the  spring  advances,  assemble  on  some  tree  in 
the  sunshine,  and  join  all  in  a  gentle  sort  of  chirping,  as  if 
they  were  about  to  break  up  their  winter  quarters  and  betake 
themselves  to  their  proper  summer  homes.  It  is  well  known, 
at  least,  that  the  swallows  and  the  fieldfares  do  congregate 
with  a  gentle  twittering  before  they  make  their  respective 
departure. 

You  may  depend  on  it  that  the  bunting,  Emberiza  miliaria, 
does  not  leave  this  county  in  the  winter.  In  January,  1767,  I 
saw  several  dozen  of  them,  in  the  midst  of  a  severe  frost, 
among  the  bushes  on  the  downs  near  Andover :  in  our  wood- 
land enclosed  district  it  is  a  rare  bird. 

Wagtails,  both  white  and  yellow,  are  with  us  all  the  winter. 
Quails  crowd  to  our  southern  coast,  and  are  often  killed  in 
numbers  by  people  that  go  on  purpose. 

Mr.  Stillingfleet,  in  his  Tracts,  says  that  "  if  the  wheatear 
{cenantke)  does  not  quit  England,  it  certainly  shifts  places ; 
for  about  harvest  they  are  not  to  be  found,  where  there  was 
before  great  plenty  of  them."  This  well  accounts  for  the 
vast  quantities  that  are  caught  about  that  time  on  the  south 
downs  near  Lewes,  where  they  are  esteemed  a  delicacy.  There 
have  been  shepherds,  I  have  been  credibly  informed,  that  have 
made  many  pounds  in  a  season  by  catching  them  in  traps. 
And  though  such  multitudes  are  taken,  I  never  saw  (and  I  am 
well  acquainted  with  those  parts)  above  two  or  three  at  a  time, 
for  they  are  never  gregarious.  They  may  perhaps  migrate 
in  general ;  and,  for  that  purpose,  draw  towards  the  coast 
of  Sussex  in  autumn :  but  that  they  do  not  all  withdraw  I 
am  sure ;  because  I  see  a  few  stragglers  in  many  counties, 
at  all  times  of  the  year,  especially  about  warrens  and  stone 
quarries. 

I  have  no  acquaintance,  at  present,  among  the  gentlemen  of 
the  navy ;  but  have  written  to  a  friend,  who  was  a  sea-chaplain 
in  the  late  war,  desiring  him  to  look  into  his  minutes,  with 
respect  to  birds  that  settled  on  their  rigging  during  their 
voyage  up  or  down  the  Channel.  What  Hasselquist  says  on 
that  subject  is  remarkable;  there  were  little  short-winged  birds 


36  WHITE 

frequently  coming  on  board  his  ship  all  the  way  from  our  Chan- 
nel quite  up  to  the  Levant,  especially  before  squally  weather. 

What  you  suggest,  with  regard  to  Spain,  is  highly  probable. 
The  winters  of  Andalusia  are  so  mild,  that,  in  all  likeUhood, 
the  soft-billed  birds  that  leave  us  at  that  season  may  find  insects 
sufficient  to  support  them  there. 

Some  young  man,  possessed  of  fortune,  health,  and  leisure, 
should  make  an  autumnal  voyage  into  that  kingdom ;  and 
should  spend  a  year  there,  investigating  the  natural  history  of 
that  vast  country.  Mr.  Willughby  ^  passed  through  that  king- 
dom on  such  an  errand ;  but  he  seems  to  have  skirted  along 
in  a  superficial  manner  and  an  ill-humor,  being  much  disgusted 
at  the  rude  dissolute  manners  of  the  people. 

I  have  no  friend  left  now  at  Sunbury  to  apply  to  about  the 
swallows  roosting  on  the  aits  of  the  Thames :  nor  can  I  hear 
any  more  about  those  birds  which  I  suspected  were  Merulce 
torqiiatce. 

As  to  the  small  mice,  I  have  farther  to  remark,  that  though 
they  hang  their  nests  for  breeding  up  amidst  the  straws  of  the 
standing  corn,  above  the  ground  ;  yet  I  find  that,  in  the  winter, 
they  burrow  deep  in  the  earth,  and  make  warm  beds  of  grass : 
but  their  grand  rendezvous  seems  to  be  in  corn-ricks,  into 
which  they  are  carried  at  harvest.  A  neighbor  housed  an  oat- 
rick  lately,  under  the  thatch  of  which  were  assembled  nearly 
a  hundred,  most  of  which  were  taken,  and  some  I  saw.  I 
measured  them  ;  and  found  that,  from  nose  to  tail,  they  were 
just  two  inches  and  a  quarter,  and  their  tails  just  two  inches 
long.  Two  of  them,  in  a  scale,  weighed  down  just  one  copper 
halfpenny,  which  is  about  the  third  of  an  ounce  avoirdupois  :  so 
that  I  suppose  they  are  the  smallest  quadrupeds  in  this  island. 
A  full-grown  Mus  tnediiis  domesticus  weighs,  I  find,  one  ounce 
lumping  weight,  which  is  more  than  six  times  as  much  as  the 
mouse  above ;  and  measures  from  nose  to  rump  four  inches 
and  a  quarter,  and  the  same  in  its  tail.  We  have  had  a  very 
severe  frost  and  deep  snow  this  month.  My  thermometer  was 
one  day  fourteen  degrees  and  a  half  below  the  freezing- 
point,  within  doors.  The  tender  evergreens  were  injured  pretty 
much.  It  was  very  providential  that  the  air  was  still,  and  the 
ground  well  covered  with  snow,  else  vegetation  in  general 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  3/ 

must  have  suffered  prodigiously.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  some  days  were  more  severe  than  any  since  the  year 
1739-40.  I  am,  etc.,  etc. 

Note 

^  See  Ray's  "Travels,"  p.  466.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XIV 

Selborne,  March  i2ih,  1768. 

Dear  Sir,  —  If  some  curious  gentleman  would  procure  the 
head  of  a  fallow-deer,  and  have  it  dissected,  he  would  find  it 
furnished  with  two  spiracula,  or  breathing  places,  besides  the 
nostrils ;  probably  analogous  to  the  pwicta  lachryinalia  in  the 
human  head.  When  deer  are  thirsty  they  plunge  their  noses, 
like  some  horses,  very  deep  under  water,  while  in  the  act  of 
drinking,  and  continue  them  in  that  situation  for  a  consider- 
able time :  but,  to  obviate  any  inconveniency,  they  can  open 
two  vents,  one  at  the  inner  corner  of  each  eye,  having  a  com- 
munication with  the  nose.  Here  seems  to  be  an  extraordinary 
provision  of  nature  worthy  our  attention ;  and  which  has  not, 
that  I  know  of,  been  noticed  by  any  naturalist.  For  it  looks  as 
if  these  creatures  would  not  be  suffocated,  though  both  their 
mouths  and  nostrils  were  stopped.  This  curious  formation  of 
the  head  may  be  of  singular  service  to  beasts  of  chase,  by 
affording  them  free  respiration  :  and  no  doubt  these  additional 
nostrils  are  thrown  open  when  they  are  hard  run.  Mr.  Ray 
observed  that  at  Malta,  the  owners  slit  up  the  nostrils  of  such 
asses  as  were  hard  worked  :  for  they,  being  naturally  straight 
or  small,  did  not  admit  air  sufficient  to  serve  them  when  they 
travelled,  or  labored,  in  that  hot  climate.  And  we  know  that 
grooms,  and  gentlemen  of  the  turf,  think  large  nostrils  neces- 
sary, and  a  perfection,  in  hunters  and  running  horses. 

Oppian,  the  Greek  poet,  by  the  following  line,  seems  to  have 
had  some  notion  that  stags  have  four  spiracula : 

"  TcTpaSu/xoi  ptVes,  ttiov/ocs  (avoir]  61  SuidAoi." 
"  Quadrifidas  nares,  quadruplices  ad  respirationem  canales." 

Opp.  Cyn.  Lib.  ii.  1.  181. 


38  WHITE 

Writers,  copying  from  one  another,  make  Aristotle  say  that 
goats  breathe  at  their  ears ;  whereas  he  asserts  just  the  con- 
trary :  —  "  ^ AXKfiai(ov  yap  ovk  a\r]0r]  Xeyei,  (f)d/x€vo<i  avairveiv  Ta<; 
alyd<i  Kara  ra  a>Ta."  "Alcmaeon  does  not  advance  what  is  true, 
when  he  avers  that  goats  breathe  through  their  ears."  — "  His- 
tory of  Animals."     Book  I.,  chap,  xi.i 

Note 

^  Naturalists  seem  now  agreed  that  the  curious  slits  referred  to  in  the 
foregoing  chapter  are  not  and  cannot  be  used  for  breathing,  but  for  some 
.other. sense  of  which  we  can  but  guess  the  nature.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XV 

Selborne,  March  loth,  1768. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Some  intelligent  country  people  have  a  notion 
that  we  have  in  these  parts  a  species  of  the  genus  mustelhmin, 
besides  the  weasel,  stoat,  ferret,  and  polecat ;  a  little  reddish 
beast,  not  much  bigger  than  a  field-mouse,  but  much  longer, 
which  they  call  a  cane.  This  piece  of  intelligence  can  be  little 
depended  on  ;  but  farther  inquiry  may  be  made.^ 

A  gentleman  in  this  neighborhood  had  two  milkwhite  rooks 
in  one  nest.  A  booby  of  a  carter,  finding  them  before  they 
were  able  to  fly,  threw  them  down  and  destroyed  them,  to  the 
regret  of  the  owner,  who  would  have  been  glad  to  have  pre- 
served such  a  curiosity  in  his  rookery.  I  saw  the  birds  myself 
nailed  against  the  end  of  a  barn,  and  was  surprised  to  find  that 
their  bills,  legs,  feet,  and  claws  were  milkwhite. 

A  shepherd  saw,  as  he  thought,  some  white  larks  on  a 
down  above  my  house  this  winter :  were  not  these  the  Em- 
beriza  nivalis,  the  snow-flake  of  the  Brit.  Zool.  }  No  doubt 
they  were. 

A  few  years  ago  I  saw  a  cock  bullfinch  in  a  cage,  which  had 
been  caught  in  the  fields  after  it  was  come  to  its  full  colors. 
In  about  a  year  it  began  to  look  dingy  ;  and,  blackening  every 
succeeding  year,  it  became  coal-black  at  the  end  of  four.  Its 
chief  food  was  hempseed.  Such  influence  has  food  on  the 
color  of  animals  !    The  pied  and  mottled  colors  of  domesticated 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  39 

animals  are  supposed  to  be  owing  to  high,  various,  and  unusual 
food. 

I  had  remarked,  for  years,  that  the  root  of  the  cuckoo- 
pint  {arian)  was  frequently  scratched  out  of  the  dry  banks  of 
hedges,  and  eaten  in  severe  snowy  weather.  After  observing, 
with  some  exactness,  myself,  and  getting  others  to  do  the  same, 
we  found  it  was  the  thrush  kind  that  searched  it  out.  The 
root  of  the  arian  is  remarkably  warm  and  pungent. 

Our  flocks  of  female  chaffinches  have  not  yet  forsaken  us. 
The  blackbirds  and  thrushes  are  very  much  thinned  down  by 
that  fierce  weather  in  January. 

In  the  middle  of  February  I  discovered,  in  my  tall  hedges, 
a  little  bird  that  raised  my  curiosity :  it  was  of  that  yellow- 
green  color  that  belongs  to  the  salicaria  kind,  and,  I  think,  was 
soft-billed.  It  was  no  pants  ;  and  was  too  long  and  too  big 
for  the  golden-crowned  wren,  appearing  most  like  the  largest 
willow-wren.  It  hung  sometimes  with  its  back  downwards, 
but  never  continuing  one  moment  in  the  same  place.  I  shot 
at  it,  but  it  was  so  desultory  that  I  missed  my  aim. 

I  wonder  that  the  stone-curlew,  Charadriiiscedicnefmis,  should 
be  mentioned  by  the  writers  as  a  rare  bird  :  it  abounds  in  all 
the  champaign  parts  of  Hampshire  and  Sussex,  and  breeds,  I 
think,  all  the  summer,  having  young  ones,  I  know,  very  late 
in  the  autumn.  Already  they  begin  clamoring  in  the  evening. 
They  cannot,  I  think,  with  any  propriety,  be  called,  as  they 
are  by  Mr.  Ray,  "circa  aquas  versantes ;  "  for  with  us,  by  day 
at  least,  they  haunt  only  the  most  dry,  open,  upland  fields  and 
sheep-walks,  far  removed  from  water :  what  they  may  do  in 
the  night  I  cannot  say.  Worms  are  their  usual  food,  but  they 
also  eat  toads  and  frogs. 

I  can  show  you  some  good  specimens  of  my  new  mice. 
Linnaeus  perhaps  would  call  the  species  Mus  miJiiniics. 

Note 

^  The  cane  is  simply  a  local  name  for  the  weasel.  It  is  called  mouse- 
hunter  in  Norfolk.  A  peculiarity  of  the  weasel  is  its  curiosity.  If  you 
startle  it  and  it  runs  into  a  hole,  wait  a  few  moments,  and  it  will  probably 
come  out  again  to  look  at  you  in  a  very  impertinent  kind  of  way.  —  G.  C.  D. 


40  WHITE 


LETTER   XVI 

Selborne,  April  \Zth,  1768. 

Dear  Sir,  —  The  history  of  the  stone-curlew,  Charadriiis 
oedicnemtis,  is  as  follows.  It  lays  its  eggs,  usually  two,  never 
more  than  three,  on  the  bare  ground,  without  any  nest,  in  the 
field ;  so  that  the  countryman,  in  stirring  his  fallows,  often 
destroys  them.  The  young  run  immediately  from  the  ^g^ 
like  partridges,  etc.,  and  are  withdrawn  to  some  flinty  field  by 
the  dam,  where  they  skulk  among  the  stones,  which  are  their 
best  security ;  for  their  feathers  are  so  exactly  of  the  color  of 
our  gray  spotted  flints,  that  the  most  exact  observer,  unless 
he  catches  the  eye  of  the  young  bird,  may  be  eluded.  The 
eggs  are  short  and  round  ;  of  a  dirty  white,  spotted  with  dark 
bloody  blotches.  Though  I  might  not  be  able,  just  when  I 
pleased,  to  procure  you  a  bird,  yet  I  could  show  you  them  al- 
most any  day  ;  and  any  evening  you  may  hear  them  round  the 
village,  for  they  make  a  clamor  which  may  be  heard  a  mile. 
(Edicnemus  is  a  most  apt  and  expressive  name  for  them, 
since  their  legs  seem  swollen  like  those  of  a  gouty  man.  After 
harvest  I  have  shot  them  before  the  pointers  in  turnip-fields. 

I  make  no  doubt  but  there  are  three  species  of  the  willow- 
wrens  ;  1  two  I  know  perfectly,  but  have  not  been  able  yet  to 
procure  the  third.  No  two  birds  can  differ  more  in  their  notes, 
and  that  constantly,  than  those  two  that  I  am  acquainted  with  ; 
for  the  one  has  a  joyous,  easy,  laughing  note,  the  other  a  harsh 
loud  chirp.  The  former  is  every  way  larger,  and  three-quar- 
ters of  an  inch  longer,  and  weighs  two  drams  and  a  half,  while 
the  latter  weighs  but  two  ;  so  the  songster  is  one-fifth  heavier 
than  the  chirper.  The  chirper  (being  the  first  summer-bird 
of  passage  that  is  heard,  the  wryneck  sometimes  excepted) 
begins  his  two  notes  in  the  middle  of  March,  and  continues 
them  through  the  spring  and  summer  till  the  end  of  August, 
as  appears  by  my  journals.  The  legs  of  the  larger  of  these 
two  are  flesh-colored ;  of  the  less  black. 

The  grasshopper-lark  began  his  sibilous  note  in  my  fields 
last  Saturday.  Nothing  can  be  more  amusing  than  the  whis- 
per of  this  little  bird,  which  seems  to  be  close  by  though  at  a 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  4I 

hundred  yards  distance  ;  and  when  close  at  your  ear,  is  scarce 
any  louder  than  when  a  great  way  off.  Had  I  not  been  a  little 
acquainted  with  insects,  and  known  that  the  grasshopper  kind 
is  not  yet  hatched,  I  should  have  hardly  believed  but  that  it 
had  been  a  locusta  whispering  in  the  bushes.  The  country 
people  laugh  when  you  tell  them  that  it  is  the  note  of  a  bird. 
It  is  a  most  artful  creature,  skulking  in  the  thickest  part  of  a 
bush ;  and  will  sing  at  a  yard  distance,  provided  it  be  con- 
cealed. I  was  obliged  to  get  a  person  to  go  on  the  other  side 
of  the  hedge  where  it  haunted,  and  then  it  would  run,  creep- 
ing like  a  mouse,  before  us  for  a  hundred  yards  together, 
through  the  bottom  of  the  thorns ;  yet  it  would  not  come  into 
fair  sight ;  but  in  a  morning  early,  and  when  undisturbed,  it 
sings  on  the  top  of  a  twig,  gaping  and  shivering  with  its  wings. 
Mr.  Ray  himself  had  no  knowledge  of  this  bird,  but  received 
his  account  from  Mr.  Johnson,  who  apparently  confounds  it 
with  the  regidi  non  cvistati,  from  which  it  is  very  distinct. 
See  Ray's  "  Philos.  Letters,"  p.  108. 

The  fly-catcher  {stoparola)  has  not  yet  appeared ;  it  usually 
breeds  in  my  vine.  The  redstart  begins  to  sing,  its  note  is 
short  and  imperfect,  but  is  continued  till  about  the  middle  of 
June.  The  willow-wrens  (the  smaller  sort)  are  horrid  pests  in 
a  garden,  destroying  the  peas,  cherries,  currants,  etc. ;  and  are 
so  tame  that  a  gun  will  not  scare  them. 

A    List   of    the  summer   Birds   of   Passage  discovered  in   this 
Neighborhood,  ranged  somewhat  in  the  order  in  which  they 

APPEAR 

LINN^I    NOMINA 

Smallest  willow-wren,  Motacilla  trochilus. 

Wryneck,  Jynxtorqtdlla. 

House-swallow,  Hirutido  rustica. 

Martin,  Hirundo  Jirbica. 

Sand-martin,  Hirtindo  riparia. 

Cuckoo,  Cucuhis  canorus. 

Nightingale,  Motacilla  luscinia. 

Black-cap,  Motacilla  atricapilla. 

Whitethroat,  Motacilla  sylvia. 

Middle  willow-wren,  Motacilla  trochilus. 

Swift,  Hirutido  apus. 

Stone-curlew?  Charadrius  cedicnemus? 

Turtle-dove  ?  Turtur  aldrovandi  ? 

Grasshopper-lark,  Alauda  trivialis. . 


42  WHITE 

LINN^I    NOMINA 

Landrail,  Rallus  crex. 

Largest  willow-wren,  Motacilla  trochilus. 

Redstart,  Motacilla  phcenicurus. 

Goat-sucker,  or  fern-owl,  Caprivtulgus  eiiropceus. 

Fly-catcher,  Mtiscicapa  grisola. 

My  countrymen  talk  much  of  a  bird  that  makes  a  clatter 
with  its  bill  against  a  dead  bough,  or  some  old  pales,  calling 
it  a  jar-bird.  I  procured  one  to  be  shot  in  the  very  fact;  it 
proved  to  be  the  Sitta  eiiropcBa  (the  nuthatch).^  Mr.  Ray  says 
that  the  less  spotted  woodpecker  does  the  same.  This  noise 
may  be  heard  a  furlong  or  more. 

Now  is  the  only  time  to  ascertain  the  short-winged  summer 
birds ;  for,  when  the  leaf  is  out,  there  is  no  making  any  re- 
marks on  such  a  restless  tribe ;  and  when  once  the  young 
begin  to  appear  it  is  all  confusion :  there  is  no  distinction  of 
genus,  species,  or  sex. 

In  breeding  time  snipes  play  over  the  moors,  piping  and 
humming ;  they  always  hum  as  they  are  descending.  Is  not 
their  hum  ventriloquous  like  that  of  the  turkey .''  Some  sus- 
pect it  is  made  by  their  wings. 

This  morning  I  saw  the  golden-crowned  wren,  whose  crown 

glitters  like  burnished  gold.^     It  often  hangs  like  a  titmouse, 

with  its  back  downwards. 

Yours,  etc.,  etc. 
Notes 

1  White  probably  means  the  willow-wren  and  chifF-chafF  which  are 
common,  and  the  wood-wren  which  is  rare.  —  G   CD. 

2  The  nuthatch  builds  in  holes  in  trees,  and  if  the  opening  is  too  large, 
it  builds  it  up  with  mud,  leaving  only  sufficient  room  for  its  own  egress  and 
ingress.  —  G.  C.  D. 

2  The  golden-crested  wren  suspends  its  deep  purse-like  nest  beneath 
some  thick  fir  branch,  and  lays  a  number  of  tiny  yellow-brown  eggs,  like 
green-peas  in  size.  All  the  winter  through  this  wren  and  the  long-tailed 
tit  frequented  the  hedgerows  and  coppices  in  Shropshire,  and  were  frequent 
victims  to  a  school-boy's  love  of  chevying.  —  G.  C.  D. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  43 


LETTER   XVII 

Selborne, /««tf  18M,  1768. 

Dear  Sir,  —  On  Wednesday  last  arrived  your  agreeable 
letter  of  June  lOth.  It  gives  me  great  satisfaction  to  find 
that  you  pursue  these  studies  still  with  such  vigor,  and  are  in 
such  forwardness  with  regard  to  reptiles  and  fishes. 

The  reptiles,  few  as  they  are,  I  am  not  acquainted  with,  so 
well  as  I  could  wish,  with  regard  to  their  natural  history.  There 
is  a  degree  of  dubiousness  and  obscurity  attending  the  propa- 
gation of  this  class  of  animals,  something  analogous  to  that  of 
the  cryptogamia  in  the  sexual  system  of  plants :  and  the  case 
is  the  same  with  regard  to  some  of  the  fishes ;  as  the  eel,  etc.^ 

The  method  in  which  toads  procreate  and  bring  forth  seems 
to  be  very  much  in  the  dark.  Some  authors  say  that  they  are 
viviparous :  and  yet  Ray  classes  them  among  his  oviparous 
animals ;  and  is  silent  with  regard  to  the  manner  of  their 
bringing  forth.  Perhaps  they  may  be  eocu  y^kv  wotokol,  e^co  Se 
^(ooTOKoi,  as  is  known  to  be  the  case  with  the  viper. 

The  copulation  of  frogs  (or  at  least  the  appearance  of  it ; 
for  Swammerdam  proves  that  the  male  has  no  penis  vitrans) 
is  notorious  to  everybody :  because  we  see  them  sticking  upon 
each  other's  backs  for  a  month  together  in  the  spring :  and 
yet  I  never  saw,  or  read  of  toads  being  observed  in  the  same 
situation.  It  is  strange  that  the  matter  with  regard  to  the 
venom  of  toads  has  not  been  yet  settled.  That  they  are  not 
noxious  to  some  animals  is  plain :  for  ducks,  buzzards,  owls, 
stone-curlews,  and  snakes,  eat  them,  to  my  knowledge,  with 
impunity.  And  I  well  remember  the  time,  but  was  not  eye- 
witness to  the  fact  (though  numbers  of  persons  were)  when 
a  quack,  at  this  village,  ate  a  toad  to  make  the  country-people 
stare  ;  afterwards  he  drank  oil.^ 

I  have  been  informed  also,  from  undoubted  authority,  that 
some  ladies  (ladies  you  will  say  of  peculiar  taste)  took  a  fancy 
to  a  toad,  which  they  nourished  summer  after  summer,  for 
many  years,  till  he  grew  to  a  monstrous  size,  with  the  mag- 
gots which  turn  to  flesh-flies.  The  reptile  used  to  come  forth 
every  evening  from  a  hole  under  the  garden-steps ;  and  was 


44  WHITE 

taken  up,  after  supper,  on  the  table  to  be  fed.  But  at  last  a 
tame  raven,  kenning  him  as  he  put  forth  his  head,  gave  him 
such  a  severe  stroke  with  his  horny  beak  as  put  out  one  eye. 
After  this  accident  the  creature  languished  for  some  time  and 
died. 

I  need  not  remind  a  gentleman  of  your  extensive  reading 
of  the  excellent  account  there  is  from  Mr.  Derham,  in  Ray's 
"Wisdom  of  God  in  the  Creation"  (p.  365),  concerning  the 
migration  of  frogs  from  their  breeding  ponds.  In  this  account 
he  at  once  subverts  that  foolish  opinion  of  their  dropping  from 
the  clouds  in  rain ;  showing  that  it  is  from  the  grateful  cool- 
ness and  moisture  of  those  showers  that  they  are  tempted  to 
set  out  on  their  travels,  which  they  defer  till  those  fall.  Frogs 
are  as  yet  in  their  tadpole  state ;  but,  in  a  few  weeks,  our  lanes, 
paths,  fields,  will  swarm  for  a  few  days  with  myriads  of  those 
emigrants,  no  larger  than  my  little  finger  nail.  Swammerdam 
gives  a  most  accurate  account  of  the  method  and  situation  in 
which  the  male  impregnates  the  spawn  of  the  female.  How 
wonderful  is  the  economy  of  Providence  with  regard  to  the 
limbs  of  so  vile  a  reptile  !  While  it  is  an  aquatic  it  has  a  fish- 
like tail,  and  no  legs  ;  as  soon  as  the  legs  sprout,  the  tail  drops 
off  as  useless,  and  the  animal  betakes  itself  to  the  land ! 

Merret,  I  trust,  is  widely  mistaken  when  he  advances  that 
the  Rana  arborea  is  an  English  reptile ;  it  abounds  in  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland.^ 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  Salainandra  aquatica  of  Ray 
(the  water-newt  or  eft)  will  frequently  bite  at  the  angler's  bait, 
and  is  often  caught  on  his  hook.  I  used  to  take  it  for  granted 
that  the  Salaniandra  aquatica  was  hatched,  lived,  and  died  in 
the  water.  But  John  Ellis,  Esq.,  F.R.S.  (the  coralline  Ellis), 
asserts,  in  a  letter  to  the  Royal  Society,  dated  June  5th,  1766, 
in  his  account  of  the  nmd  ingnana,  an  amphibious  bipes  from 
South  Carolina,  that  the  water-eft,  or  newt,  is  only  the  larva 
of  the  land-eft,  as  tadpoles  are  of  frogs.*  Lest  I  should  be 
suspected  to  misunderstand  his  meaning,  I  shall  give  it  in  his 
own  words.  Speaking  of  the  opercula  or  coverings  to  the  gills 
of  the  mud  inguana,  he  proceeds  to  say  that,  "  the  form  of  these 
pennated  coverings  approaches  very  near  to  what  I  have  some 
time  ago  observed  in  the  lava  or  aquatic  state  of  our  English 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  45 

lacerta,  known  by  the  name  of  eft,  or  newt ;  which  serve  them 
for  coverings  to  their  gills,  and  for  fins  to  swim  with  while  in 
this  state  ;  and  which  they  lose,  as  well  as  the  fins  of  their 
tails,  when  they  change  their  state  and  become  land  animals, 
as  I  have  observed,  by  keeping  them  alive  for  some  time 
myself." 

Linnaeus,  in  his  "Systema  Naturae,"  hints  at  what  Mr.  Ellis 
advances  more  than  once. 

Providence  has  been  so  indulgent  to  us  as  to  allow  of  but 
one  venomous  reptile  of  the  serpent  kind  in  these  kingdoms, 
and  that  is  the  viper.  As  you  propose  the  good  of  mankind 
to  be  an  object  of  your  publications,  you  will  not  omit  to 
mention  common  salad-oil  as  a  sovereign  remedy  against  the 
bite  of  the  viper.  As  to  the  blind  worm  {Anguis  fragilis, 
so-called  because  it  snaps  in  sunder  with  a  small  blow),  I  have 
found,  on  examination,  that  it  is  perfectly  innocuous.^  A 
neighboring  yeoman  (to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  some  good 
hints)  killed  and  opened  a  female  viper  about  the  27th  May : 
he  found  her  filled  with  a  chain  of  eleven  eggs,  about  the  size 
of  those  of  a  blackbird ;  but  none  of  them  were  advanced  so 
far  towards  a  state  of  maturity  as  to  contain  any  rudiments 
of  young.  Though  they  are  oviparous,  yet  they  are  vivipa- 
rous also,  hatching  their  young  within  their  bellies,  and  then 
bringing  them  forth.  Whereas  snakes  lay  chains  of  eggs 
every  summer  in  my  melon  beds,  in  spite  of  all  that  my  peo- 
ple can  do  to  prevent  them ;  which  eggs  do  not  hatch  till  the 
spring  following,  as  I  have  often  experienced.  Several  intel- 
ligent folks  assure  me  that  they  have  seen  the  viper  open  her 
mouth  and  admit  her  helpless  young  down  her  throat  on  sud- 
den surprises,  just  as  the  female  opossum  does  her  brood  into 
the  pouch  under  her  belly,  upon  the  like  emergencies ;  and  yet 
the  London  viper-catchers  insist  on  it,  to  Mr.  Barrington,  that 
no  such  thing  ever  happens.  The  serpent  kind  eat,  I  believe, 
but  once  in  a  year;  or  rather,  but  only  just  at  one  season  of 
the  year.  Country-people  talk  much  of  a  water-snake,  but,  I 
am  pretty  sure,  without  any  reason ;  for  the  common  snake 
{Coluber  natrix)  delights  much  to  sport  in  the  water,  perhaps 
with  a  view  to  procure  frogs  and  other  food.^ 

I  cannot  well  guess  how  you  are  to  make  out  your  twelve 


46  WHITE 

species  of  reptiles,  unless  it  be  by  the  various  species,  or  rather 
varieties,  of  our  lacerti,  of  which  Ray  enumerates  five.  I  have 
not  had  opportunity  of  ascertaining  these;  but  remember  well 
to  have  seen,  formerly,  several  beautiful  green  lacerti  on  the 
sunny  sandbanks  near  Farnham,  in  Surrey ;  and  Ray  admits 
there  are  such  in  Ireland. 

Notes 

^  Toads  lay  eggs  as  frogs  do.  Every  dweller  in  the  country  will  be  famil- 
iar with  the  masses  of  jelly-like  substance  in  the  ditches  which  constitutes 
the  spawn  of  frogs.  That  of  toads  forms  long  strings  instead  of  masses. 
—  G.  C.  D. 

'^  There  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  the  secretion  which  exudes  from  the 
tubercles  on  the  toad's  skin  is  very  offensive,  and  might  irritate  a  delicate 
skin.     Dogs  will  not  mouth  them  a  second  time.  —  G.  C.  D. 

3  This  pretty  green  frog,  which  lives  on  a  tree,  and  is  sometimes  kept  as 
a  pet,  is  not  considered  a  native  species.  Mr.  J.  G.  Wood  says  he  saw  a 
colony  of  them  in  a  hole  in  an  apple-tree  at  Marston,  near  Oxford ;  but 
they  must  have  been  introduced  there,  or  strayed  from  some  one  who  kept 
them.  — G.  C.  D. 

*  There  is  but  one  species  of  newt,  which  goes  through  all  its  changes  in 
the  water.  The  male  has  a  beautiful  waving  crest  along  its  back  and  tail. 
When  young  it  has  gills ;  but  when  it  reaches  the  perfect  state  it  has  to  rise 
constantly  to  the  surface  to  take  in  a  supply  of  air.  It  is  possible  that  by 
the  term  land-eft.  White  may  refer  to  the  lizard,  which  belongs  to  a  diflferent 
family.  Most  country  people  of  the  lower  order  are  dreadfully  afraid  of 
newts  or  effets,  and  think  their  bite  is  deadly.  As  a  fact,  however,  they  are 
quite  harmless.  —  G.  CD. 

^  The  blind-worm  or  slow-worm  does  not  need  a  blow  to  induce  it  to  cast 
off  its  tail.  A  sudden  fright  is  sufficient.  While  you  are  looking  at  the  tail 
wriggling  and  jumping  about,  the  body  quietly  makes  its  escape.  —  G.  C.  D. 

*•  The  common  snake  takes  readily  to  the  water,  and  swims  —  sometimes 
altogether  beneath  it,  and  sometimes  with  the  head  and  neck  above.  I  have 
very  often  seen  them  doing  this ;  and  although  I  knew  they  were  harmless, 
I  did  not  like  them  diving  close  by  me  when  I  was  swimming.  There  is 
no  English  species  of  "water-snake."  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XVIII 

Selborne,  July  2jth,  1768. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  received  your  obliging  and  communicative 
letter  of  June  28th,  while  I  was  on  a  visit  at  a  gentleman's 
house,  where  I  had  neither  books  to  turn  to,  nor  leisure  to 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  47 

sit  down,  to  return  you  an  answer  to  many  queries,  which  I 
wanted  to  resolve  in  the  best  manner  that  I  am  able. 

A  person,  by  my  order,  has  searched  our  brooks,  but  could 
find  no  such  fish  as  the  Gasterostetts  pjingiti?is^;  he  found  the 
Gasterostetis  aaileatiis  in  plenty.  This  morning,  in  a  basket, 
I  packed  a  little  earthen  pot  full  of  wet  moss,  and  in  it  some 
sticklebacks,  male  and  female ;  the  females  big  with  spawn  : 
some  lamperns ;  some  bull's  heads ;  but  I  could  procure  no 
minnows.  This  basket  will  be  in  Fleet  Street  by  eight  this 
evening ;  so  I  hope  Mazel  will  have  them  fresh  and  fair  to- 
morrow morning.  I  gave  some  directions,  in  a  letter,  to  what 
particulars  the  engraver  should  be  attentive. 

Finding,  while  I  was  on  a  visit,  that  I  was  within  a  reason- 
able distance  of  Ambresbury,  I  sent  a  servant  over  to  that 
town,  and  procured  several  living  specimens  of  loaches,  which 
he  brought,  safe  and  brisk,  in  a  glass  decanter.  They  were 
taken  in  the  gullies  that  were  cut  for  watering  the  meadows. 
From  these  fishes  (which  measured  from  two  to  four  inches 
in  length)  I  took  the  following  description  :  "  The  loach,  in 
its  general  aspect,  has  a  pellucid  appearance  ;  its  back  is  mot- 
tled with  irregular  collections  of  small  black  dots,  not  reaching 
much  below  the  liiiea  lateralis,  as  are  the  back  and  tail  fins ; 
a  black  line  runs  from  each  eye  down  to  the  nose  ;  its  belly  is 
of  a  silvery  white ;  the  upper  jaw  projects  beyond  the  lower, 
and  is  surrounded  with  six  feelers,  three  on  each  side  ;  its  pec- 
toral fins  are  large,  its  ventral  much  smaller ;  the  fin  behind 
its  anus  small ;  its  dorsal-fin  large,  containing  eight  spines  ;  its 
tail,  where  it  joins  to  the  tail-fin,  remarkably  broad,  without 
any  taperness,  so  as  to  be  characteristic  of  this  genus ;  the 
tail-fin  is  broad,  and  square  at  the  end.  From  the  breadth 
and  muscular  strength  of  the  tail  it  appears  to  be  an  active 
nimble  fish." 

In  my  visit  I  was  not  very  far  from  Hungerford,  and  did 
not  forget  to  make  some  inquiries  concerning  the  wonderful 
method  of  curing  cancers  by  means  of  toads.  Several  intelli- 
gent persons,  both  gentry  and  clergy,  do  I  find  give  a  great 
deal  of  credit  to  what  is  asserted  in  the  papers,  and  I  myself 
dined  with  a  clergyman  who  seemed  to  be  persuaded  that  what 
is  related  is  matter  of  fact ;  but,  when  I  came  to  attend  to  his 


48  WHITE 

account,  I  thought  I  discerned  circumstances  which  did  not  a 
little  invalidate  the  woman's  story  of  the  manner  in  which  she 
came  by  her  skill.  She  says  of  herself  "  that,  laboring  under 
a  virulent  cancer,  she  went  to  some  church  where  there  was 
a  vast  crowd ;  on  going  into  a  pew,  she  was  accosted  by  a 
strange  clergyman,  who,  after  expressing  compassion  for  her 
situation,  told  her  that  if  she  would  make  such  an  application 
of  living  toads  as  is  mentioned  she  would  be  well."  Now  is 
it  likely  that  this  unknown  gentleman  should  express  so  much 
tenderness  for  this  single  sufferer,  and  not  feel  any  for  the 
many  thousands  that  daily  languish  under  this  terrible  dis- 
order .''  Would  he  not  have  made  use  of  this  invaluable  nos- 
trum for  his  own  emolument ;  or  at  least,  by  some  means  of 
publication  or  other,  have  found  a  method  of  making  it  public 
for  the  good  of  mankind  ?  In  short,  this  woman  (as  it  appears 
to  me)  having  set  up  for  a  cancer-doctress,  finds  it  expedient 
to  amuse  the  country  with  this  dark  and  mysterious  relation. 
The  water-eft  has  not,  that  I  can  discern,  the  least  appear- 
ance of  any  gills  ;  for  want  of  which  it  is  continually  rising  to 
the  surface  of  the  water  to  take  in  fresh  air.  I  opened  a  big- 
bellied  one  indeed,  and  found  it  full  of  spawn.  Not  that  this 
circumstance  at  all  invalidates  the  assertion  that  they  are  larvce ; 
for  the  larvce  of  insects  are  full  of  eggs,  which  they  exclude  the 
instant  they  enter  their  last  state.  The  water-eft  is  continually 
climbing  over  the  brims  of  the  vessel,  within  which  we  keep  it 
in  water,  and  wandering  away  ;  and  people  every  summer  see 
numbers  crawling  out  of  the  pools  where  they  are  hatched,  up 
the  dry  banks.  There  are  varieties  of  them,  differing  in  color ; 
and  some  have  fins  up  their  tail  and  back,  and  some  have  not. 

Note 

^  The  Gasterosteies  pungitius  is  the  ten-spined  stickleback.     The  other 
is  the  common  one  with  three  spines.  —  G.  C.  D. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  49 


LETTER   XIX 

Selborne,  August  ijth,  1768. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  have  now,  past  dispute,  made  out  three  dis- 
tinct species  of  the  willow-wrens  {inotacillcB  trocJiili)  which  con- 
stantly and  invariably  use  distinct  notes.  But  at  the  same  time 
I  am  obliged  to  confess  that  I  know  nothing  of  your  willow- 
lark.  In  my  letter  of  April  i8th,  I  had  told  you  peremptorily 
that  I  knew  your  willow-lark,  but  had  not  seen  it  then ;  but 
when  I  came  to  procure  it,  it  proved  in  all  respects  a  very 
motacilla  trochibis,  only  that  it  is  a  size  larger  than  the  two 
others,  and  the  yellow-green  of  the  whole  upper  part  of  the 
body  is  more  vivid,  and  the  belly  of  a  clearer  white.  I  have 
specimens  of  the  three  sorts  now  lying  before  me,  and  can  dis- 
cern that  there  are  three  gradations  of  sizes,  and  that  the  least 
has  black  legs,  and  the  other  two  flesh-colored  ones.  The  yel- 
lowest bird  is  considerably  the  largest,  and  has  its  quill-feathers 
and  secondary  feathers  tipped  with  white,  which  the  others  have 
not.  This  last  haunts  only  the  tops  of  trees  in  high  beechen 
woods,  and  makes  a  sibilous  grasshopper-like  noise,  now  and 
then,  at  short  intervals,  shivering  a  little  with  its  wings  when 
it  sings ;  and  is,  I  make  no  doubt  now,  the  regulns  non  cristatus 
of  Ray,  which  he  says  "  cantat  voce  stridtild  lociistce."  Yet 
this  great  ornithologist  never  suspected  that  there  were  three 
species. 


LETTER   XX 

Selborne,  October  Zth,  1768. 

It  is  I  find  in  zoology  as  it  is  in  botany ;  all  nature  is  so 
full  that  that  district  produces  the  greatest  variety  which  is 
the  most  examined.  Several  birds,  which  are  said  to  belong 
to  the  north  only,  are  it  seems  often  in  the  south.  I  have  dis- 
covered this  summer  three  species  of  birds  with  us,  which 
writers  mention  as  only  to  be  seen  in  the  northern  counties. 
The  first  that  was  brought  me  (on  the  14th  May),  was  the 
sandpiper,  tringa  hypoleiiciis  :  it  was  a  cock  bird,  and  haunted 
5 


50  WHITE 

the  banks  of  some  ponds  near  the  village ;  and,  as  it  had  a 
companion,  doubtless  intended  to  have  bred  near  that  water. 
Besides,  the  owner  has  told  me  since,  that  on  recollection,  he 
has  seen  some  of  the  same  birds  round  his  ponds  in  former 
summers. 

The  next  bird  that  I  procured  (on  the  2ist  May)  was  a  male 
red-backed  butcher-bird,  laniiis  colliirio.  My  neighbor,  who 
shot  it,  says  that  it  might  easily  have  escaped  his  notice,  had 
not  the  outcries  and  chattering  of  the  whitethroats  and  other 
small  birds  drawn  his  attention  to  the  bush  where  it  was ;  its 
craw  was  filled  with  the  legs  and  wings  of  beetles. 

The  next  rare  birds  (which  were  procured  for  me  last  week) 
were  some  ring-ousels,  tiirdi  torquati} 

This  week  twelve  months  a  gentleman  from  London,  being 
with  us,  was  amusing  himself  with  a  gun,  and  found,  he  told 
us,  on  an  old  yew  hedge  where  there  were  berries,  some  birds 
like  blackbirds,  with  rings  of  white  round  their  necks  :  a  neigh- 
boring farmer  also  at  the  same  time  observed  the  same ;  but, 
as  no  specimens  were  procured,  little  notice  was  taken.  I  men- 
tioned this  circumstance  to  you  in  my  letter  of  November  4th, 
I  'joj  (you,  however,  paid  but  small  regard  to  what  I  said,  as  I 
had  not  seen  these  birds  myself) ;  but  last  week  the  aforesaid 
farmer,  seeing  a  large  flock,  twenty  or  thirty  of  these  birds, 
shot  two  cocks  and  two  hens,  and  says,  on  recollection,  that 
he  remembers  to  have  observed  these  birds  again  last  spring, 
about  Lady-day,  as  it  were  on  their  return  to  the  north.  Now 
perhaps  these  ousels  are  not  the  ousels  of  the  north  of  Eng- 
land, but  belong  to  the  more  northern  parts  of  Europe ;  and 
may  retire  before  the  excessive  rigor  of  the  frosts  in  those 
parts,  and  return  to  breed  in  the  spring,  when  the  cold  abates. 
If  this  be  the  case,  here  is  discovered  a  new  bird  of  winter 
passage,  concerning  whose  migrations  the  writers  are  silent ; 
but  if  these  birds  should  prove  the  ousels  of  the  north  of  Eng- 
land, then  here  is  a  migration  disclosed  within  our  own  king- 
dom never  before  remarked.  It  does  not  yet  appear  whether 
they  retire  beyond  the  bounds  of  our  island  to  the  south ;  but 
it  is  niost  probable  that  they  usually  do,  or  else  one  cannot 
suppose  that  they  would  have  continued  so  long  unnoticed  in 
the  southern  countries.     The  ousel  is  larger  than  a  blackbird, 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  5 1 

and  feeds  on  haws  ;  but  last  autumn  (when  there  were  no  haws) 
it  fed  on  yew-berries :  in  the  spring  it  feeds  on  ivy-berries, 
which  ripen  only  at  that  season,  in  March  and  April. 

I  must  not  omit  to  tell  you  (as  you  have  been  so  lately  on  the 
stud)''  of  reptiles)  that  my  people,  every  now  and  then  of  late, 
draw  up  with  a  bucket  of  water  from  my  well,  which  is  sixty- 
three  feet  deep,  a  large  black  warty  lizard  with  a  fin-tail  and 
yellow  belly.  How  they  first  came  down  at  that  depth,  and 
how  they  were  ever  to  have  got  out  thence  without  help,  is  more 
than  I  am  able  to  say. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  you  for  your  trouble  and  care  in  the 
examination  of  a  buck's  head.  As  far  as  your  discoveries  reach 
at  present,  they  seem  much  to  corroborate  my  suspicions  ;  and 

I  hope  Mr. may  find  reason  to  give  his  decision  in  my 

favor ;  and  then,  I  think,  we  may  advance  this  extraordinary 
provision  of  nature  as  a  new  instance  of  the  wisdom  of  God 
in  the  creation. 

As  yet  I  have  not  quite  done  with  my  history  of  the  oedicne- 
niiis,  or  stone-curlew ;  for  I  shall  desire  a  gentleman  in  Sus- 
sex (near  whose  house  these  birds  congregate  in  vast  flocks  in 
the  autumn)  to  observe  nicely  when  they  leave  him  (if  they  do 
leave  him),  and  when  they  return  again  in  the  spring :  I  was 
with  this  gentleman  lately,  and  saw  several  single  birds. 

Note 

^  The  ring-ousel  was  common  on  the  Eglwyseg  Rocks  bordering  the 
Vale  of  Llangollen.  It  appears  to  make  a  partial  migration  to  the  south 
of  England  in  the  autumn.  — G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XXI 

Selborne,  Nov.  i%th,  1768. 
Dear  Sir,  —  With  regard  to  the  cedicnemus,  or  stone-curlew, 
I  intend  to  write  very  soon  to  my  friend  near  Chichester,  in 
whose  neighborhood  these  birds  seem  most  to  abound ;  and 
shall  urge  him  to  take  particular  notice  when  they  begin  to  con- 
gregate, and  afterwards  to  watch  them  most  narrowly  whether 
they  do  not  withdraw  themselves  during  the  dead  of  the  winter. 


52  WHITE 

When  I  have  obtained  information  with  respect  to  this  circum- 
stance, I  shall  have  finished  my  history  of  the  stone-curlew, 
which  I  hope  will  prove  to  your  satisfaction,  as  it  will  be,  I 
trust,  very  near  the  truth.  This  gentleman,  as  he  occupies  a 
large  farm  of  his  own,  and  is  abroad  early  and  late,  will  be  a 
very  proper  spy  upon  the  motions  of  these  birds  ;  and  besides, 
as  I  have  prevailed  on  him  to  buy  the  Naturalist's  Journal  (with 
which  he  is  much  delighted),  I  shall  expect  that  he  will  be  very 
exact  in  his  dates.  It  is  very  extraordinary,  as  you  observe, 
that  a  bird  so  common  with  us  should  never  struggle  to  you. 

And  here  will  be  the  properest  place  to  mention,  while  I  think 
of  it,  an  anecdote  which  the  above-mentioned  gentleman  told  me 
when  I  was  last  at  his  house;  which  was  that,  in  a  warren  join- 
ing to  his  outlet,  many  daws  {corvi  monedu/a')hm\t  every  year  in 
the  rabbit-burrows  under  ground.  The  way  he  and  his  brothers 
used  to  take  their  nests,  while  they  were  boys,  was  by  listening 
at  the  mouths  of  the  holes ;  and,  if  they  heard  the  young  ones 
'.cry,  they  twisted  the  nest  out  with  a  forked  stick.  Some  water- 
fowls (viz.,  the  puffins)  breed,  I  know,  in  that  manner;  but  I 
should  never  have  suspected  the  daws  of  building  in  holes  on 
the  flat  ground.^ 

Another  very  unlikely  spot  is  made  use  of  by  daws  as  a  place 
to  breed  in,  and  that  is  Stonehenge.  These  birds  deposit  their 
nests  in  the  interstices  between  the  upright  and  the  impost 
stones  of  that  amazing  work  of  antiquity  :  which  circumstance 
alone  speaks  the  prodigious  height  of  the  upright  stones,  that 
they  should  be  tall  enough  to  secure  those  nests  from  the  annoy- 
ance of  shepherd-boys,  who  are  always  idling  round  that  place. 

One  of  my  neighbors  last  Saturday,  November  26th,  saw  a 
martin  in  a  sheltered  bottom :  the  sun  shone  warm,  and  the 
bird  was  hawking  briskly  after  flies.  I  am  now  perfectly  satis- 
fied that  they  do  not  all  leave  this  island  in  the  winter. 

You  judge  very  right,  I  think,  in  speaking  with  reserve  and 
caution  concerning  the  cures  done  by  toads :  for,  let  people 
advance  what  they  will  on  such  subjects,  yet  there  is  such  a 
propensity  in  mankind  towards  deceiving  and  being  deceived, 
that  one  cannot  safely  relate  anything  from  common  report, 
especially  in  print,  without  expressing  some  degree  of  doubt 
and  suspicion. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF    SELBORNE  53 

Your  approbation,  with  regard  to  my  new  discovery  of  the 
migration  of  the  ring-ousel,  gives  me  satisfaction ;  and  I  find 
you  concur  with  me  in  suspecting  that  they  are  foreign  birds 
which  visit  us.  You  will  be  sure,  I  hope,  not  to  omit  to  make 
inquiry  whether  your  ring-ousels  leave  your  rocks  in  the 
autumn.  What  puzzles  me  most,  is  the  very  short  stay  they 
make  with  us;  for  in  about  three  weeks  they  are  all  gone.  I 
shall  be  very  curious  to  remark  whether  they  will  call  on  us 
at  their  return  in  the  spring,  as  they  did  last  year. 

I  want  to  be  better  informed  with  regard  to  ichthyology.  If 
fortune  had  settled  me  near  the  seaside,  or  near  some  great 
river,  my  natural  propensity  would  soon  have  urged  me  to  have 
made  myself  acquainted  with  their  productions  :  but  as  I  have 
lived  mostly  in  inland  parts,  and  in  an  upland  district,  my 
knowledge  of  fishes  extends  little  farther  than  to  those  common 
sorts  which  our  brooks  and  lakes  produce. 

I  am,  etc. 

Note 

^  At  Craigyrhiw,  a  limestone  cliff  near  Oswestry,  on  the  Welsh  border, 
where  the  jackdaws  bred  by  the  thousand,  numbers  of  them  made  their  nests 
in  the  rabbit  holes  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks.  I  often  used  to  find  a  stock- 
dove's nest  in  a  rabbit  hole  there,  too.  We  would  sit  and  watch  them  from 
a  crag,  until  we  saw  a  bird  leave  or  enter.  On  the  Norfolk  warrens,  too, 
stock-doves  breed  in  the  rabbit  holes.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XXII 

Selborne,/^;/.  2nd,  1769. 

Dear  Sir,  —  As  to  the  peculiarity  of  jackdaws  building  with 
us  under  the  ground  in  rabbit-burrows,  you  have,  in  part,  hit 
upon  the  reason  ;  for,  in  reality,  there  are  hardly  any  towers  or 
steeples  in  all  this  country.  And  perhaps,  Norfolk  excepted, 
Hampshire  and  Sussex  are  as  meanly  furnished  with  churches 
as  almost  any  counties  in  the  kingdom.  We  have  many  livings 
of  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  a  year,  whose  houses  of  wor- 
ship make  little  better  appearance  than  dovecots.  When  I 
first  saw  Northamptonshire,  Cambridgeshire,  and  Huntingdon- 
shire, and  the  fens  of  Lincolnshire,  I  was  amazed  at  the  number 


54  WHITE 

of  spires  which  presented  themselves  in  every  point  of  view. 
As  an  admirer  of  prospects,  I  have  reason  to  lament  this 
want  in  my  own  country  ;  for  such  objects  are  very  necessary 
ingredients  in  an  elegant  landscape. 

What  you  mention  with  respect  to  reclaimed  toads  raises  my 
curiosity.  An  ancient  author,  though  no  naturalist,  has  well 
remarked  that "  every  kind  of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  and  of  ser- 
pents, and  things  in  the  sea,  is  tamed,  and  hath  been  tamed, 
of  mankind." 

It  is  a  satisfaction  to  me  to  find  that  a  green  lizard  has  actu- 
ally been  procured  for  you  in  Devonshire  ;  because  it  corrobo- 
rates my  discovery,  which  I  made  many  years  ago,  of  the  same 
sort,  on  a  sunny  sandbank  near  Farnham,  in  Surrey.  I  am 
well  acquainted  with  the  South  Hams  of  Devonshire  ;  and  can 
suppose  that  district,  from  its  southerly  situation,  to  be  a  proper 
habitation  for  such  animals  in  their  best  colors. 

Since  the  ring-ousels  of  your  vast  mountains  do  certainly  not 
forsake  them  against  winter,  our  suspicions  that  those  which 
visit  this  neighborhood  about  Michaelmas  are  not  English  birds, 
but  driven  from  the  more  northern  parts  of  Europe  by  the  frosts, 
are  still  more  reasonable ;  and  it  will  be  worth  your  pains  to 
endeavor  to  trace  from  whence  they  come,  and  to  inquire  why 
they  make  so  very  short  a  stay. 

In  your  account  of  your  error  with  regard  to  the  two 
species  of  herons,  you  incidentally  gave  me  great  entertain- 
ment in  your  description  of  the  heronry  at  Cressi  Hall;  which 
is  a  curiosity  I  never  could  manage  to  see.  Fourscore  nests 
of  such  a  bird  on  one  tree  is  a  rarity  which  I  would  ride  half 
as  many  miles  to  have  a  sight  of.  Pray  be  sure  to  tell  me  in 
your  next  whose  seat  Cressi  Hall  is,  and  near  what  town  it 
lies.  I  have  often  thought  that  those  vast  extents  of  fens 
have  never  been  sufficiently  explored.  If  half  a  dozen  gentle- 
men, furnished  with  a  good  strength  of  water-spaniels,  were 
to  beat  them  over  for  a  week,  they  would  certainly  find  more 
species. 

There  is  no  bird,  I  believe,  whose  manners  I  have  studied 
more  than  that  of  the  capriimdgus  (the  goat-sucker),  as  it  is  a 
wonderful  and  curious  creature ;  but  I  have  always  found  that 
though  sometimes  it  may  chatter  as  it  flies,  as  I  know  it  does, 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  55 

yet  in  general  it  utters  its  jarring  note  sitting  on  a  bough;  and 
I  have  for  many  a  half  hour  watched  it  as  it  sat  with  its  under 
mandible  quivering,  and  particularly  this  summer.  It  perches 
usually  on  a  bare  twig,  with  its  head  lower  than  its  tail,  in 
an  attitude  well  expressed  by  your  draughtsman  in  the  folio 
"  British  Zoology."  ^  This  bird  is  most  punctual  in  beginning 
its  song  exactly  at  the  close  of  day ;  so  exactly  that  I  have 
known  it  strike  up  more  than  once  or  twice  just  at  the  report 
of  the  Portsmouth  evening  gun,  which  we  can  hear  when  the 
weather  is  still.  It  appears  to  me  past  all  doubt  that  its  notes 
are  formed  by  organic  impulse,  by  the  powers  of  the  parts  of 
its  windpipe,  formed  for  sound,  just  as  cats  purr.  You  will 
credit  me,  I  hope,  when  I  assure  you  that,  as  my  neighbors 
were  assembled  in  an  hermitage  on  the  side  of  a  steep  hill 
where  we  drink  tea,  one  of  these  churn-owls  came  and  settled 
on  the  cross  of  that  little  straw  edifice  and  began  to  chatter, 
and  continued  his  note  for  many  minutes ;  and  we  were  all 
struck  with  wonder  to  find  that  the  organs  of  that  little  ani- 
mal, when  put  in  motion,  gave  a  sensible  vibration  to  the 
whole  building !  This  bird  also  sometimes  makes  a  small 
squeak,  repeated  four  or  five  times ;  and  I  have  observed 
that  to  happen  when  the  cock  has  been  pursuing  the  hen  in 
a  toying  way  through  the  boughs  of  a  tree. 

It  would  not  be  at  all  strange  if  your  bat,  which  you  have 
procured,  should  prove  a  new  one,  since  five  species  have 
been  found  in  a  neighboring  kingdom.  The  great  sort  that 
I  mentioned  is  certainly  a  nondescript ;  I  saw  but  one  this 
summer,  and  that  I  had  no  opportunity  of  taking. 

Your  account  of  the  Indian  grass  was  entertaining.  I  am 
no  angler  myself ;  but  inquiring  of  those  that  are,  what  they 
supposed  that  part  of  their  tackle  to  be  made  of .-"  —  they  re- 
plied, "  Of  the  intestines  of  a  silkworm."  ^ 

Though  I  must  not  pretend  to  great  skill  in  entomology, 
yet  I  cannot  say  that  I  am  ignorant  of  that  kind  of  knowl- 
edge ;  I  may  now  and  then  perhaps  be  able  to  furnish  you 
with  a  little  information. 

The  vast  rains  ceased  with  us  much  about  the  same  time  as 
with  you,  and  since  we  have  had  delicate  weather.  Mr.  Bar- 
ker, who  has  measured  the  rain  for  more  than  thirty  years. 


56  WHITE 

says,  in  a  late  letter,  that  more  has  fallen  this  year  than  in 
any  he  ever  attended  to;  though  from  July  1763  to  January 
1764,  more  fell  than  in  any  seven  months  of  this  year. 

Notes 

^  The  goat-sucker  or  nightjar  perches  lengthwise  on  a  bough  instead  of 
across  it  as  other  birds  do.  The  eggs,  which  it  lays  on  the  ground,  in  an 
apology  for  a  nest,  are  most  beautifully  marbled.  —  G.  C.  D. 

'^  The  gut  used  by  anglers  is  made  from  the  silkworm,  and  is  the  substance 
from  which  the  silk  would  be  spun  if  the  caterpillar  were  allowed  to  continue 
its  existence.  The  Indian  grass  is  of  very  little  use  for  fishing,  as  it  is  brittle. 
—  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XXIII 

Selborne,  Feb.  2%th,  lySg. 

Dear  Sir,  —  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  Guernsey  lizard 
and  our  green  lizards  may  be  specifically  the  same ;  all  that  I 
know  is,  that,  when  some  years  ago  many  Guernsey  lizards 
were  turned  loose  in  Pembroke  College  garden,  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  they  lived  a  great  while,  and  seemed  to  enjoy 
themselves  very  well,  but  never  bred.  Whether  this  circum- 
stance will  prove  anything  either  way  I  shall  not  pretend  to 
say. 

I  return  you  thanks  for  your  account  of  Cressi  Hall ;  but 
recollect,  not  without  regret,  that  in  June  1746  I  was  visiting 
for  a  week  together  at  Spalding,  without  ever  being  told  that 
such  a  curiosity  was  just  at  hand.  Pray  send  me  word  in  your 
next  what  sort  of  tree  it  is  that  contains  such  a  quantity  of 
herons'  nests ;  and  whether  the  heronry  consists  of  a  whole 
grove  of  wood,  or  only  of  a  few  trees. 

It  gave  me  satisfaction  to  find  we  accorded  so  well  about 
the  caprimulgus ;  all  I  contended  for  was  to  prove  that  it  often 
chatters  sitting  as  well  as  flying ;  and  therefore  the  noise  was 
voluntary,  and  from  organic  impulse,  and  not  from  the  resist- 
ance of  the  air  against  the  hollow  of  its  mouth  and  throat. 

If  ever  I  saw  anything  like  actual  migration,  it  was  last 
Michaelmas  Day.  I  was  travelling,  and  out  early  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  at  first  there  was  a  vast  fog ;  but,  by  the  time  that  I  was 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  5/ 

got  seven  or  eight  miles  from  home  towards  the  coast,  the  sun 
broke  out  into  a  delicate  warm  day.  We  were  then  on  a  large 
heath  or  common,  and  I  could  discern,  as  the  mist  began  to 
break  away,  great  numbers  of  swallows  {Jiiriuidmes  riisticce) 
clustering  on  the  stunted  shrubs  and  bushes,  as  if  they  had 
roosted  there  all  night.  As  soon  as  the  air  became  clear  and 
pleasant  they  were  all  on  the  wing  at  once ;  and,  by  a  placid 
and  easy  flight,  proceeded  on  southward  towards  the  sea  ; 
after  this  I  did  not  see  any  more  flocks,  only  now  and  then  a 
straggler. 

I  cannot  agree  with  those  persons  that  assert  that  the  swal- 
low kind  disappear  some  and  some,  gradually,  as  they  come, 
for  the  bulk  of  them  seem  to  withdraw  at  once ;  only  some 
stragglers  stay  behind  a  long  while,  and  do  never,  there  is  the 
greatest  reason  to  believe,  leave  this  island.  Swallows  seem 
to  lay  themselves  up,  and  to  come  forth  in  a  warm  day,  as 
bats  do  continually  of  a  warm  evening,  after  they  have  disap- 
peared for  weeks.  For  a  very  respectable  gentleman  assured 
me  that,  as  he  was  walking  with  some  friends  under  Merton 
Wall  on  a  remarkably  hot  noon,  either  in  the  last  week  in 
December  or  the  first  week  in  January,  he  espied  three  or 
four  swallows  huddled  together  on  the  moulding  of  one  of 
the  windows  of  that  college.  I  have  frequently  remarked  that 
swallows  are  seen  later  at  Oxford  than  elsewhere ;  is  it  owing 
to  the  vast  massy  buildings  of  that  place,  to  the  many  waters 
round  it,  or  to  what  else .'' 

When  I  used  to  rise  in  the  morning  last  autumn,  and  see 
the  swallows  and  martins  clustering  on  the  chimneys  and 
thatch  of  the  neighboring  cottages,  I  could  not  help  being 
touched  with  a  secret  delight,  mixed  with  some  degree  of  mor- 
tification ;  with  delight,  to  observe  with  how  much  ardor  and 
punctuality  those  poor  little  birds  obeyed  the  strong  impulse 
towards  migration,  or  hiding,  imprinted  on  their  minds  by 
their  great  Creator ;  and  with  some  degree  of  mortification, 
when  I  reflected  that,  after  all  our  pains  and  inquiries,  we  are 
yet  not  quite  certain  to  what  regions  they  do  migrate  ;  and  are 
still  farther  embarrassed  to  find  that  some  do  not  actually  mi- 
grate at  all. 

These  reflections  made  so  strong  an  impression  on  my  im- 


58  WHITE 

agination,  that  they  became  productive  of  a  composition  that 
may  perhaps  amuse  you  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  when  next  I 
have  the  honor  of  writing  to  you. 


LETTER   XXIV 

Selborne,  May  2gth,  1769. 

Dear  Sir,  — The  scarabcBus  fullo  I  know  very  well,  having 
seen  it  in  collections ;  but  have  never  been  able  to  discover 
one  wild  in  its  natural  state.  Mr.  Banks  told  me  he  thought 
it  might  be  found  on  the  seacoast. 

On  the  1 3th  April  I  went  to  the  sheep-down,  where  the  ring- 
oiisels  have  been  observed  to  make  their  appearance  at  spring 
and  fall,  in  their  way  perhaps  to  the  north  or  south ;  and  was 
much  pleased  to  see  these  birds  about  the  usual  spot.  We  shot 
a  cock  and  a  hen ;  they  were  plump  and  in  high  condition.  The 
hen  had  but  very  small  rudiments  of  eggs  within  her,  which 
proves  they  are  late  breeders ;  whereas  those  species  of  the 
thrush  kind  that  remain  with  us  the  whole  year  have  fledged 
young  before  that  time.  In  their  crops  was  nothing  very  dis- 
tinguishable, but  somewhat  that  seemed  like  blades  of  vege- 
tables nearly  digested.  In  autumn  they  feed  on  haws  and 
yew-berries,  and  in  the  spring  on  ivy-berries.  I  dressed  one 
of  these  birds,  and  found  it  juicy  and  well  flavored.  It  is  re- 
markable that  they  make  but  a  few  days'  stay  in  their  spring 
visit,  but  rest  near  a  fortnight  at  Michaelmas.  These  birds, 
from  the  observations  of  three  springs  and  two  autumns,  are 
most  punctual  in  their  return ;  and  exhibit  a  new  migration 
unnoticed  by  the  writers,  who  supposed  they  never  were  to 
be  seen  in  any  southern  countries. 

One  of  my  neighbors  lately  brought  me  a  new  salicaria, 
which  at  first  I  suspected  might  have  proved  your  willow-lark, 
but  on  a  nicer  examination,  it  answered  much  better  to  the 
description  of  that  species  which  you  shot  at  Revesby,  in 
Lincolnshire.  My  bird  I  describe  thus  :  "  It  is  a  size  less  than 
the  grasshopper-lark ;  the  head,  back,  and  coverts  of  the 
wings,  of  J,  dusky  brown,  without  those  dark  spots  of   the 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  59 

grasshopper-lark ;  over  each  eye  is  a  milk-white  stroke ; 
the  chin  and  throat  are  white,  and  the  under  parts  of  a  yel- 
lowish white ;  the  rump  is  tawny,  and  the  feathers  of  the  tail 
sharp-pointed ;  the  bill  is  dusky  and  sharp,  and  the  legs  are 
dusky  ;  the  hinder  claw  long  and  crooked."  The  person  that 
shot  it  says  that  it  sung  so  like  a  reed-sparrow  that  he  took  it 
for  one ;  and  that  it  sings  all  night :  but  this  account  merits 
farther  inquiry.  For  my  part,  I  suspect  it  is  a  second  sort 
of  locustela,  hinted  at  by  Dr.  Derham  in  Ray's  Letters :  see 
p.  108.     He  also  procured  me  a  grasshopper-lark. 

The  question  that  you  put  with  regard  to  those  genera  of 
animals  that  are  peculiar  to  America,  viz.,  how  they  came  there, 
and  whence }  is  too  puzzling  for  me  to  answer ;  and  yet  so 
obvious  as  often  to  have  struck  me  with  wonder.  If  one  looks 
into  the  writers  on  that  subject  little  satisfaction  is  to  be  found. 
Ingenious  men  will  readily  advance  plausible  arguments  to 
support  whatever  theory  they  shall  choose  to  maintain ;  but 
then  the  misfortune  is,  every  one's  hypothesis  is  each  as  good 
as  another's,  since  they  are  all  founded  on  conjecture.  The 
late  writers  of  this  sort,  in  whom  may  be  seen  all  the  argu- 
ments of  those  that  have  gone  before,  as  I  remember,  stock 
America  from  the  western  coast  of  Africa  and  the  south  of 
Europe ;  and  then  break  down  the  Isthmus  that  bridged  over 
the  Atlantic.  But  this  is  making  use  of  a  violent  piece  of 
machinery ;  it  is  a  difficulty  worthy  of  the  interposition  of  a 
god!   ^'' Increduhis  odi'' 


TO    THOMAS    PENNANT,    ESQUIRE 

THE    NATURALIST'S   SUMMER-EVENING   WALK 


equidem  credo,  quia  sit  divinitus  illis 


Ingenium.  ViRG.  Georg. 

When  day  declining  sheds  a  milder  gleam. 
What  time  the  may-fly  ^  haunts  the  pool  or  stream ; 
When  the  still  owl  skims  round  the  grassy  mead. 
What  time  the  timorous  hare  limps  forth  to  feed ; 
Then  be  the  time  to  steal  adown  the  vale. 
And  listen  to  the  vagrant  ^  cuckoo's  tale ; 


60  WHITE 

To  hear  the  clamorous  ^  curlew  call  his  mate, 
Or  the  soft  quail  his  tender  pain  relate ; 
To  see  the  swallow  sweep  the  darkening  plain 
Belated,  to  support  her  infant  train  ; 
To  mark  the  swift  in  rapid  giddy  ring 
Dash  round  the  steeple,  unsubdued  of  wing : 
Amusive  birds  !  —  say  where  your  hid  retreat 
When  the  frost  rages  and  the  tempests  beat ; 
Whence  your  return,  by  such  nice  instinct  led, 
When  spring,  soft  season,  lifts  her  bloomy  head  ? 
Such  baffled  searches  mock  man's  prying  pride. 
The  God  of  Nature  is  your  secret  guide ! 

While  deepening  shades  obscure  the  face  of  day, 
To  yonder  bench  leaf-sheltered  let  us  stray. 
Till  blended  objects  fail  the  swimming  sight, 
And  all  the  fading  landscape  sinks  in  night ; 
To  hear  the  drowsy  dor  come  brushing  by 
With  buzzing  wing,  or  the  shrill  *  cricket  cry ; 
To  see  the  feeding  bat  glance  through  the  wood ; 
To  catch  the  distant  falling  of  the  flood ; 
While  o'er  the  cliff  th'  awakened  churn-owl  hung 
Through  the  still  gloom  protracts  his  chattering  song ; 
While  high  in  air,  and  poised  upon  his  wings. 
Unseen,  the  soft  enamored  ^  woodlark  sings : 
These,  Nature's  works,  the  curious  mind  employ. 
Inspire  a  soothing  melancholy  joy  : 
As  fancy  warms,  a  pleasing  kind  of  pain 
Steals  o'er  the  cheek,  and  thrills  the  creeping  vein ! 

Each  rural  sight,  each  sound,  each  smell,  combine ; 
The  tinkling  sheep-bell  or  the  breath  of  kine ; 
The  new-mown  hay  that  scents  the  swelling  breeze, 
Or  cottage-chimney  smoking  through  the  trees. 

The  chilling  night-dews  fall :  —  away,  retire  ! 
For  see,  the  glow-worm  lights  her  amorous  fire !  ^ 
Thus,  ere  night's  veil  had  half  obscured  the  sky, 
Th'  impatient  damsel  hung  her  lamp  on  high : 
True  to  the  signal,  by  love's  meteor  led, 
Leander  hastened  to  his  Hero's  bed." 

I  am,  etc. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF  SELBORNE  6l 


Notes 

^  The  angler's  may-fly,  the  ephemera  vulgata  Linn.,  comes  forth  from  its 
aurelia  state,  and  emerges  out  of  the  water  about  six  in  the  evening,  and  dies 
about  eleven  at  night,  determining  the  date  of  its  fly  state  in  about  five  or 
six  hours.  They  usually  begin  to  appear  about  the  4th  June,  and  continue 
in  succession  for  near  a  fortnight.  See  Siva/nmerdani,  Derhaifi,  Scopoli, 
etc.  — G.  W. 

'^  Vagrant  cuckoo ;  so  called  because,  being  tied  down  by  no  incubation 
or  attendance  about  the  nutrition  of  its  young,  it  wanders  without  control. 
—  G.  W. 

8  Charadritcs  cedicnetntis.  —  G.  W. 

*  Grylliis  campestris.  — G.  W. 

°  In  hot  summer  nights  woodlarks  soar  to  a  prodigious  height,  and  hang 
singing  in  the  air.  —  G.  W. 

^  The  light  of  the  female  glow-worm  (as  she  often  crawls  up  the  stalk  of 
a  grass  to  make  herself  more  conspicuous)  is  a  signal  to  the  male,  which  is  a 
slender  dusky  scarabceus.  —  G.  W. 

"  See  the  story  of  Hero  and  Leander.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XXV 

Selborne,  Atig.  loth,  1769. 

Dear  Sir,  — It  gives  me  satisfaction  to  find  that  my  account 
of  the  ousel  migration  pleases  you.  You  put  a  very  shrewd 
question  when  you  ask  me  how  I  know  that  their  autumnal 
migration  is  southward .-"  Was  not  candor  and  openness  the 
very  life  of  natural  history,  I  should  pass  over  this  query  just 
as  a  sly  commentator  does  over  a  crabbed  passage  in  a  classic ; 
but  common  ingenuousness  obliges  me  to  confess,  not  without 
some  degree  of  shame,  that  I  only  reasoned  in  that  case  from 
analogy.  For  as  all  other  autumnal  birds  migrate  from  the 
northward  to  us,  to  partake  of  our  milder  winters,  and  return 
to  the  northward  again  when  the  rigorous  cold  abates,  so  I 
concluded  that  the  ring-ousels  did  the  same,  as  well  as  their 
congeners  the  fieldfares ;  and  especially  as  ring-ousels  are 
known  to  haunt  cold  mountainous  countries  :  but  I  have  good 
reason  to  suspect  since  that  they  may  come  to  us  from  the 
westward  ;  because  I  hear  from  very  good  authority,  that  they 
breed  on  Dartmoor ;  and  that  they  forsake  that  wild  district 


62  WHITE 

about  the  time  that  our  visitors  appear,  and  do  not  return  till 
late  in  the  spring. 

I  have  taken  a  great  deal  of  pains  about  your  salicaria  and 
mine,  with  a  white  stroke  over  its  eye  and  a  tawny  rump.^  I 
have  surveyed  it  alive  and  dead,  and  have  procured  several 
specimens,  and  am  perfectly  persuaded  myself  (and  trust  you 
will  soon  become  convinced  of  the  same)  that  it  is  no  more  nor 
less  than  th.&  passer  arundinacetis  minor  oi  Ray.  This  bird,  by 
some  means  or  other,  seems  to  be  entirely  omitted  in  the  "  British 
Zoology ; "  and  one  reason  probably  was  because  it  is  so  strangely 
classed  in  Ray,  who  ranges  it  among  his  picis  affines.  It  ought 
no  doubt  to  have  gone  among  his  aviculcB  caiidd  imicolore,  and 
among  your  slender-billed  small  birds  of  the  same  division. 
Linnaeus  might  with  great  propriety  have  put  it  into  his  genus 
of  motacilla;  and  niotacilla  salicaria  of  h.\&fajma  snecica  seems 
to  come  the  nearest  to  it.  It  is  no  uncommon  bird,  haunting  the 
sides  of  ponds  and  rivers  where  there  is  covert,  and  the  reeds 
and  sedges  of  moors.  The  country-people  in  some  places  call 
it  the  sedge-bird.  It  sings  incessantly  night  and  day  during 
the  breeding  time,  imitating  the  note  of  a  sparrow,  a  swallow,  a 
skylark  ;  and  has  a  strange  hurrying  manner  in  its  song.  My 
specimens  correspond  most  minutely  to  the  description  of  your 
fen  salicaria  shot  near  Revesby.  Mr.  Ray  has  given  an  ex- 
cellent characteristic  of  it  when  he  says,  *^  Rostrum  et pedes  in 
hdc  avicidd  inn  lib  majores  s?int  qiidni  pro  corporis  rationey  See 
letter,  May  29th,  1769.     (Preceding  letter,  XXIV.) 

I  have  got  you  the  ^g%  of  an  oedicnemiis,  or  stone-curlew, 
which  was  picked  up  in  a  fallow  on  the  naked  ground ;  there 
were  two,  but  the  finder  inadvertently  crushed  one  with  his 
foot  before  he  saw  them. 

When  I  wrote  to  you  last  year  on  reptiles,  I  wish  I  had  not 
forgot  to  mention  the  faculty  that  snakes  have  of  stinking  se 
defendendo.  I  knew  a  gentleman  who  kept  a  tame  snake, 
which  was  in  its  person  as  sweet  as  any  animal  while  in  good 
humor  and  unalarmed ;  but  as  soon  as  a  stranger,  or  a  dog  or 
cat,  came  in,  it  fell  to  hissing,  and  filled  the  room  with  such 
nauseous  effluvia  as  rendered  it  hardly  supportable.  Thus  the 
squnck,  or  stonck,  of  Ray's  "  Synop.  Quadr."  is  an  innocuous 
and  sweet  animal ;  but,  when  pressed  hard  by  dogs  and  men. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  6$ 

it  can  eject  such  a  most  pestilent  and  fetid  smell  and  excre- 
ment, that  nothing  can  be  more  horrible. 

A  gentleman  sent  me  lately  a  fine  specimen  of  the  lanius 
viinor  cinerascens  cum  viaculd  in  scapiilis  albd.  Rail ;  which  is 
a  bird  that,  at  the  time  of  your  publishing  your  two  first  vol- 
umes of  "  British  Zoology,"  I  find  you  had  not  seen.  You 
have  described  it  well  from  Edwards's  drawing. 

Note 

^  The  bird  referred  to  is  the  sedge-warbler.  White  says  it  sings  like  a 
reed-sparrow.  The  reed-sparrow  has  no  song,  but  the  reed-wren,  or  reed- 
warbler,  has,  and  White  must  mean  this  species  by  the  term  reed-sparrow.  — 
G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XXVI 

Selborne,  December  Si/t,  1769. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  was  much  gratified  by  your  communicative 
letter  on  your  return  from  Scotland,  where  you  spent  some 
considerable  time,  and  gave  yourself  good  room  to  examine 
the  natural  curiosities  of  that  extensive  kingdom,  both  those  of 
the  islands,  as  well  as  those  of  the  highlands.  The  usual  bane 
of  such  expeditions  is  hurry,  because  men  seldom  allot  them- 
selves half  the  time  they  should  do ;  but,  fixing  on  a  day  for 
their  return,  post  from  place  to  place,  rather  as  if  they  were  on 
a  journey  that  required  despatch,  than  as  philosophers  investi- 
gating the  works  of  nature.  You  must  have  made,  no  doubt, 
many  discoveries,  and  laid  up  a  good  fund  of  materials  for  a 
future  edition  of  the  "  British  Zoology ;  "  and  will  have  no  rea- 
son to  repent  that  you  have  bestowed  so  much  pains  on  a  part 
of  Great  Britain  that  perhaps  was  never  so  well  examined 
before. 

It  has  always  been  matter  of  wonder  to  me  that  fieldfares, 
which  are  so  congenerous  to  thrushes  and  blackbirds,  should 
never  choose  to  breed  in  England ;  but  that  they  should  not 
think  even  the  highlands  cold  and  northerly,  and  sequestered 
enough,  is  a  circumstance  still  more  strange  and  wonderful. 
The  ring-ousel,  you  find,  stays  in  Scotland  the  whole  year 
round ;  so  that  we  have  reason  to  conclude  that  those  migrat- 


64  WHITE 

ors  that  visit  us  for  a  short  space  every  autumn  do  not  come 
from  thence. 

And  here,  I  think,  will  be  the  proper  place  to  mention  that 
those  birds  were  most  punctual  again  in  their  migration  this 
autumn,  appearing,  as  before,  about  the  30th  September ;  but 
their  flocks  were  larger  than  common,  and  their  stay  protracted 
somewhat  beyond  the  usual  time.  If  they  came  to  spend  the 
whole  winter  with  us,  as  some  of  their  congeners  do,  and  then 
left  us,  as  they  do,  in  spring,  I  should  not  be  so  much  struck 
with  the  occurrence,  since  it  would  be  similar  to  that  of  the 
other  winter  birds  of  passage  ;  but  when  I  see  them  for  a  fort- 
night at  Michaelmas,  and  again  for  about  a  week  in  the  middle 
of  April,  I  am  seized  with  wonder,  and  long  to  be  informed 
whence  these  travellers  come,  and  whither  they  go,  since  they 
seem  to  use  our  hills  merely  as  an  inn  or  baiting  place. 

Your  account  of  the  greater  brambling,  or  snow-fleck,  is 
very  amusing ;  and  strange  it  is  that  such  a  short-winged  bird 
should  delight  in  such  perilous  voyages  over  the  northern 
ocean !  Some  country-people  in  the  winter  time  have  every 
now  and  then  told  me  that  they  have  seen  two  or  three  white 
larks  on  our  downs,  but,  on  considering  the  matter,  I  begin  to 
suspect  that  these  are  some  stragglers  of  the  birds  we  are  talk- 
ing of,  which  sometimes  perhaps  may  rove  so  far  to  the  south- 
ward. 

It  pleases  me  to  find  that  white  hares  are  so  frequent  on  the 
Scottish  mountains,  and  especially  as  you  inform  me  that  it  is 
a  distinct  species ;  for  the  quadrupeds  of  Britain  are  so  few, 
that  every  new  species  is  a  great  acquisition. 

The  eagle-owl,  could  it  be  proved  to  belong  to  us,  is  so 
majestic  a  bird,  that  it  would  grace  onr  fatma  much.  I  never 
was  informed  before  where  wild-geese  are  known  to  breed. 

You  admit,  I  find,  that  I  have  proved  your  fen  salicaria  to 
be  the  lesser  reed-sparrow  of  Ray ;  and  I  think  you  may  be  se- 
cure that  I  am  right,  for  I  took  very  particular  pains  to  clear 
up  that  matter,  and  had  some  fair  specimens ;  but,  as  they 
were  not  well  preserved,  they  are  decayed  already.  You  will, 
no  doubt,  insert  it  in  its  proper  place  in  your  next  edition. 
Your  additional  plates  will  much  improve  your  work. 

De  Buffon,  I  know,  has  described  the  water  shrew-mouse; 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  6$ 

but  still  I  am  pleased  to  find  you  have  discovered  it  in  Lincoln- 
shire, for  the  reason  I  have  given  in  the  article  of  the  white 
hare. 

As  a  neighbor  was  lately  ploughing  a  dry,  chalky  field,  far 
removed  from  any  water,  he  turned  out  a  water-rat,  that  was 
curiously  lain  up  in  a  hybernaculum  artificially  formed  of  grass 
and  leaves.  At  one  end  of  the  burrow  lay  above  a  gallon  of 
potatoes  regularly  stowed,  on  which  it  was  to  have  supported 
itself  for  the  winter.  But  the  difficulty  with  me  is  how  this 
avtphibius  mus  came  to  fix  its  winter  station  at  such  a  distance 
from  the  water.  Was  it  determined  in  its  choice  of  that  place 
by  the  m.ere  accident  of  finding  the  potatoes  which  were 
planted  there ;  or  is  it  the  constant  practice  of  the  aquatic  rat 
to  forsake  the  neighborhood  of  the  water  in  the  colder  months } 

Though  I  delight  very  little  in  analogous  reasoning,  know- 
ing how  fallacious  it  is  with  respect  to  natural  history ;  yet,  in 
the  following  instance,  I  cannot  help  being  inclined  to  think 
it  may  conduce  towards  the  explanation  of  a  difficulty  that  I 
have  mentioned  before,  with  respect  to  the  invariable  early  re- 
treat of  the  liiriindo  apiis,  or  swift,  so  many  weeks  before  its 
congeners ;  and  that  not  only  with  us,  but  also  in  Andalusia, 
where  they  also  begin  to  retire  about  the  beginning  of  August. 

The  great  large  bat  (which  by  the  bye  is  at  present  a  nonde- 
script in  England,  and  what  I  have  never  been  able  yet  to  pro- 
cure) retires  or  migrates  very  early  in  the  summer;  it  also 
ranges  very  high  for  its  food,  feeding  in  a  different  region  of 
the  air;  and  that  is  the  reason  I  never  could  procure  one. 
Now  this  is  exactly  the  case  with  the  swifts ;  for  they  take 
their  food  in  a  more  exalted  region  than  the  other  species,  and 
are  very  seldom  seen  hawking  for  flies  near  the  ground,  or  over 
the  surface  of  the  water.  From  hence  I  would  conclude  that 
these  hirwidmes  and  the  larger  bats  are  supported  by  some 
sorts  of  high-flying  gnats,  scarabs,  ox phalcencB,  that  are  of  short 
continuance ;  and  that  the  short  stay  of  these  strangers  is  reg- 
ulated by  the  defect  of  their  food. 

By  my  journal  it  appears  that  curlews  clamored  on  to 
October  31st;  since  which  I  have  not  seen  nor  heard  any. 
Swallows  were  observed  on  to  November  3rd. 


66  WHITE 


LETTER   XXVII 

Selborne,  Fed.  22nd,  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Hedgehogs  abound  in  my  gardens  and  fields. 
The  manner  in  which  they  eat  the  roots  of  the  plantain  in  my 
grass-walks  is  very  curious  ;  with  their  upper  mandible,  which 
is  much  longer  than  their  lower,  they  bore  under  the  plant,  and 
so  eat  the  root  off  upwards,  leaving  the  tuft  of  leaves  untouched. 
In  this  respect  they  are  serviceable,  as  they  destroy  a  very 
troublesome  weed  ;  but  they  deface  the  walks  in  some  measure 
by  digging  little  round  holes.  It  appears,  by  the  dung  that  they 
drop  upon  the  turf,  that  beetles  are  no  inconsiderable  part  of 
their  food.^  In  June  last  I  procured  a  litter  of  four  or  five  young 
hedgehogs,  which  appeared  to  be  about  five  or  six  days  old : 
they,  I  find,  like  puppies,  are  born  blind,  and  could  not  see  when 
they  came  to  my  hands.  No  doubt  their  spines  are  soft  and  flex- 
ible at  the  time  of  their  birth,  or  else  the  poor  dam  would  have 
but  a  bad  time  of  it  in  the  critical  moment  of  parturition,  but 
it  is  plain  they  soon  harden ;  for  these  little  pigs  had  such  stiff 
prickles  on  their  backs  and  sides  as  would  easily  have  fetched 
blood,  had  they  not  been  handled  with  caution.  Their  spines 
are  quite  white  at  this  age  ;  and  they  have  little  hanging  ears, 
which  I  do  not  remember  to  be  discernible  in  the  old  ones. 
They  can,  in  part,  at  this  age  draw  their  skin  down  over  their 
faces ;  but  are  not  able  to  contract  themselves  into  a  ball,  as  they 
do,  for  the  sake  of  defence,  when  full  grown.  The  reason,  I  sup- 
pose, is,  because  the  curious  muscle  that  enables  the  creature 
to  roll  itself  up  in  a  ball  was  not  then  arrived  at  its  full  tone 
and  firmness.  Hedgehogs  make  a  deep  and  warm  /ij'dernac- 
nlmn  with  leaves  and  moss,  in  which  they  conceal  themselves 
for  the  winter ;  but  I  never  could  find  that  they  stored  in  any 
winter  provision,  as  some  quadrupeds  certainly  do. 

I  have  discovered  an  anecdote  with  respect  to  the  fieldfare 
{tiirdiis  pilaris),  which  I  think  is  particular  enough  ;  this  bird, 
though  it  sits  on  trees  in  the  day-time,  and  procures  the  great- 
est part  of  its  food  from  white-thorn  hedges ;  yea,  moreover, 
builds  on  very  high  trees,  as  may  be  seen  by  \\vq.  fauna  sttecica  ; 
yet  always  appears  with  us  to  roost  on  the  ground.    They  are 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  6/ 

seen  to  come  in  flocks  just  before  it  is  dark,  and  to  settle  and 
nestle  among  the  heath  on  our  f  orest.^  And  besides,  the  larkers 
in  dragging  their  nets  by  night,  frequently  catch  them  in  the 
wheat  stubbles ;  while  the  bat-fowlers,  who  take  many  red- 
wings in  the  hedges,  never  entangle  any  of  this  species.  Why 
these  birds,  in  the  matter  of  roosting,  should  differ  from  all  their 
congeners,  and  from  themselves  also  with  respect  to  their  pro- 
ceedings by  day,  is  a  fact  for  which  I  am  by  no  means  able  to 
account. 

1  have  somewhat  to  inform  you  of  concerning  the  moose- 
deer ;  but  in  general  foreign  animals  fall  seldom  in  my  way; 
my  little  intelligence  is  confined  to  the  narrow  sphere  of  my 
own  observations  at  home. 

Notes 

^  Hedgehogs  are  indiscriminate  feeders  upon  flesh  or  vegetables,  insects 
or  eggs.  It  is  persistently  asserted  by  country-people,  and  as  persistently 
denied  by  naturalists,  that  the  hedgehog  will  suck  the  teats  of  sleeping  cows. 
That  it  is  occasionally  up  to  mischief  the  following  note  copied  from  the 
Field oi 'hls.y  24th,  1879,  '^^'i^^  show:  — 

"  Some  few  days  ago  a  farmer  had  an  ewe  caught  in  some  brambles,  and 
when  he  went  to  see  his  sheep  in  the  morning,  he  found  that  something 
had  eaten  the  ewe's  udder  off.  Of  course  he  killed  the  sheep  at  once,  and, 
as  he  was  taking  it  home  in  the  cart,  I  thought  it  was  a  strange  case,  and 
got  up  into  the  cart  and  examined  the  part  that  had  been  bitten.  I  saw  the 
marks  of  small  teeth  on  the  skin,  and  told  the  farmer  I  thought  it  was  a 
hedgehog.  I  set  some  traps  where  the  blood  had  been  spilt  on  the  ground, 
and  strewed  some  small  portions  of  half-decayed  liver  round  about  the  traps 
for  one  or  two  nights.  About  the  third  night  the  portions  of  Hverwere  all 
gone.  I  left  the  traps  set,  and  strewed  more  liver,  and  this  morning  I  had 
got  a  very  large  hedgehog,  a  little  over  2  lb.  weight.  I  skinned  him,  and 
examined  the  stomach,  and  found  in  it  some  soft  dark-brown  pulpy  substance, 
mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of  wool. 

"W.  R.  SMITH,  Gamekeeper, 

"  Okehamptotu  N.  Devon.'''' 

—  G.  C.  D. 

2  The  fieldfare  and  redwing  nest  among  the  pines  and  firs  of  Norway  and 
Sweden,  and  arrive  in  England  in  large  flocks  in  the  wunter.  — G.  C.  D. 


68  WHITE 


LETTER   XXVIII 

Selborne,  March,  1770. 

On  Michaelmas  day  1768  I  managed  to  get  a  sight  of  the 
female  moose  belonging  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  at  Good- 
wood ;  but  was  greatly  disappointed,  when  I  arrived  at  the  spot, 
to  find  that  it  died,  after  having  appeared  in  a  languishing  way 
for  some  time  on  the  morning  before.  However,  understand- 
ing that  it  was  not  stripped,  I  proceeded  to  examine  this  rare 
quadruped ;  I  found  it  in  an  old  greenhouse,  slung  under  the 
belly  and  chin  by  ropes,  and  in  a  standing  posture  ;  but,  though 
it  had  been  dead  for  so  short  a  time,  it  was  in  so  putrid  a  state 
that  the  stench  was  hardly  supportable.  The  grand  distinction 
between  this  deer,  and  any  other  species  that  I  have  ever  met 
with,  consisted  in  the  strange  length  of  its  legs ;  on  which  it 
was  tilted  up  much  in  the  manner  of  the  birds  of  the  grallcB 
order.  I  measured  it,  as  they  do  a  horse,  and  found  that, 
from  the  ground  to  the  withers  it  was  just  five  feet  four 
inches ;  which  height  answers  exactly  to  sixteen  hands,  a 
growth  that  few  horses  arrive  at :  but  then,  with  this  length 
of  legs,  its  neck  was  remarkably  short,  no  more  than  twelve 
inches ;  so  that,  by  straddling  with  one  foot  forward  and  the 
other  backward,  it  grazed  on  the  plain  ground,  with  the  great- 
est difficulty,  between  its  legs  ;  the  ears  were  vast  and  lopping, 
and  as  long  as  the  neck ;  the  head  was  about  twenty  inches 
long,  and  ass-like ;  and  had  such  a  redundancy  of  upper  lip 
as  I  never  saw  before,  with  huge  nostrils.  This  lip,  travellers 
say,  is  esteemed  a  dainty  dish  in  North  America.  It  is  very 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  this  creature  supports  itself  chiefly 
by  browsing  of  trees,  and  by  wading  after  water  plants ;  tow- 
ards which  way  of  livelihood  the  length  of  legs  and  great  lip 
must  contribute  much.  I  have  read  somewhere  that  it  delights 
in  eating  the  nympJicea,  or  water-lily.  From  the  fore-feet  to  the 
belly  behind  the  shoulder  it  measured  three  feet  and  eight 
inches :  the  length  of  the  legs  before  and  behind  consisted  a 
great  deal  in  the  tibia,  which  was  strangely  long ;  but,  in  my 
haste  to  get  out  of  the  stench,  I  forgot  to  measure  that  joint 
exactly.     Its  scut  seemed  to  be  about  an  inch  long ;  the  color 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  69 

was  a  grizzly  black ;  the  mane  about  four  inches  long ;  the 
fore-hoofs  were  upright  and  shapely,  the  hind  flat  and  splayed. 
The  spring  before  it  was  only  two  years  old,  so  that  most  prob- 
ably it  was  not  then  come  to  its  growth.  What  a  vast  tall  beast 
must  a  full-grown  stag  be  !  I  have  been  told  some  arrive  at  ten 
feet  and  a  half  !  This  poor  creature  had  at  first  a  female  com- 
panion of  the  same  species,  which  died  the  spring  before.  In 
the  same  garden  was  a  young  stag,  or  red  deer,  between  whom 
and  this  moose  it  was  hoped  that  there  might  have  been  a  breed ; 
but  their  inequality  of  height  must  have  always  been  a  bar  to 
any  commerce  of  the  amorous  kind.  I  should  have  been  glad 
to  have  examined  the  teeth,  tongue,  lips,  hoofs,  etc.,  minutely  ; 
but  the  putrefaction  precluded  all  farther  curiosity.  This  ani- 
mal, the  keeper  told  me,  seemed  to  enjoy  itself  best  in  the  ex- 
treme frost  of  the  former  winter.  In  the  house  they  showed 
me  the  horn  of  a  male  moose,  which  had  no  front  antlers,  but 
only  a  broad  palm  with  some  snags  on  the  edge.  The  noble 
owner  of  the  dead  moose  proposed  to  make  a  skeleton  of  her 
bones. 

Please  to  let  me  hear  if  my  female  moose  corresponds  with 
that  you  saw ;  and  whether  you  think  still  that  the  American 
moose  and  European  elk  are  the  same  creature. 

I  am,  with  the  greatest  esteem,  etc. 


LETTER   XXIX 

Selborne,  May  12th,  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Last  month  we  had  such  a  series  of  cold  tur- 
bulent weather,  such  a  constant  succession  of  frost,  and  snow, 
and  hail,  and  tempest,  that  the  regular  migration  or  appear- 
ance of  the  summer  birds  was  much  interrupted.  Some  did 
not  show  themselves  (at  least  were  not  heard)  till  weeks  after 
their  usual  time  ;  as  the  black-cap  and  whitethroat ;  and  some 
have  not  been  heard  yet,  as  the  grasshopper-lark  and  largest 
willow-wren.  As  to  the  fly-catcher,  I  have  not  seen  it ;  it  is 
indeed  one  of  the  latest,  but  should  appear  about  this  time : 
and  yet,  amidst  all  this  meteorous  strife  and  war  of  the  ale- 


70  WHITE 

ments,  two  swallows  discovered  themselves  as  long  ago  as 
April  nth,  in  frost  and  snow;  but  they  withdrew  quickly, 
and  were  not  visible  again  for  many  days.  House-martins, 
which  are  always  more  backward  than  swallows,  were  not 
observed  till  May  came  in. 

Among  the  monogamous  birds  several  are  to  be  found,  after 
pairing  time,  single,  and  of  each  sex ;  but  whether  this  state 
of  celibacy  is  matter  of  choice  or  necessity,  is  not  so  easy  dis- 
coverable. When  the  house-sparrows  deprive  my  martins  of 
their  nests,  as  soon  as  I  cause  one  to  be  shot  the  other,  be  it 
cock  or  hen,  presently  procures  a  mate,  and  so  for  several 
times  following. 

I  have  known  a  dove-house  infested  by  a  pair  of  white  owls, 
which  made  great  havoc  among  the  young  pigeons :  one  of 
the  owls  was  shot  as  soon  as  possible ;  but  the  survivor  readily 
found  a  mate,  and  the  mischief  went  on.  After  some  time 
the  new  pair  were  both  destroyed,  and  the  annoyance  ceased. 

Another  instance  I  remember  of  a  sportsman,  whose  zeal 
for  the  increase  of  his  game  being  greater  than  his  humanity, 
after  pairing  time  he  always  shot  the  cock  bird  of  every  couple 
of  partridges  upon  his  grounds ;  supposing  that  the  rivalry  of 
many  males  interrupted  the  breed :  he  used  to  say,  that,  though 
he  had  widowed  the  same  hen  several  times,  yet  he  found  she 
was  still  provided  with  a  fresh  paramour,  that  did  not  take  her 
away  from  her  usual  haunt. 

Again ;  I  knew  a  lover  of  setting,  an  old  sportsman,  who 
has  often  told  me  that  soon  after  harvest  he  has  frequently 
taken  small  coveys  of  partridges,  consisting  of  cock  birds 
alone ;  these  he  pleasantly  used  to  call  old  bachelors. 

There  is  a  propensity  belonging  to  common  house-cats  that 
is  very  remarkable ;  I  mean  their  violent  fondness  for  fish, 
which  appears  to  be  their  most  favorite  food :  and  yet  nature 
in  this  instance  seems  to  have  planted  in  them  an  appetite 
that,  unassisted,  they  know  not  how  to  gratify  :  for  of  all  quad- 
rupeds cats  are  the  least  disposed  towards  water;  and  will 
not,  when  they  can  avoid  it,  deign  to  wet  a  foot,  much  less  to 
plunge  into  that  element. 

Quadrupeds  that  prey  on  fish  are  amphibious :  such  is  the 
otter,  which  by  nature  is  so  well  formed  for  diving,  that  it 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  71 

makes  great  havoc  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  waters.  Not 
supposing  that  we  had  any  of  those  beasts  in  our  shallow 
brooks,  I  was  much  pleased  to  see  a  male  otter,  brought  to 
me,  weighing  twenty-one  pounds,  that  had  been  shot  on  the 
bank  of  our  stream  below  the  Priory,  where  the  rivulet  divides 
the  parish  of  Selborne  from  Harteley  Wood.^ 

Note 

1  Shy  as  the  otter  is,  a  pair  made  their  home  in  a  hole  under  some  stone- 
work on  the  banks  of  the  canal  at  Llangollen,  within  six  yards  of  several 
cottages. 


LETTER   XXX 

Selborne,  Aug.  ist,  1770. 

Dear  Sir, — The  French,  I  think,  in  general  are  strangely 
prolix  in  their  natural  history.  What  Linnaeus  says  with  re- 
spect to  insects  holds  good  in  every  other  branch :  "  Verbositas 
prcEsentis  sceaili,  calami  tas  art  is. '^ 

Pray  how  do  you  approve  of  Scopoli's  new  work  "i  As  I 
admire  his  "  Entomologia,"  I  long  to  see  it. 

I  forgot  to  mention  in  my  last  letter  (and  had  not  room  to 
insert  in  the  former)  that  the  male  moose,  in  rutting  time, 
swims  from  island  to  island,  in  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  North 
America,  in  pursuit  of  the  females.  My  friend,  the  chaplain, 
saw  one  killed  in  the  water  as  it  was  on  that  errand  in  the 
river  St.  Lawrence :  it  was  a  monstrous  beast,  he  told  me  ; 
but  he  did  not  take  the  dimensions. 

When  I  was  last  in  town  our  friend  Mr.  Barrington  most 
obligingly  carried  me  to  see  many  curious  sights.  As  you 
were  then  writing  to  him  about  horns,  he  carried  me  to  see 
many  strange  and  wonderful  specimens.  There  is,  I  remem- 
ber, at  Lord  Pembroke's  at  Wilton,  a  horn  room  furnished 
with  more  than  thirty  different  pairs  ;  but  I  have  not  seen  that 
house  lately. 

Mr,  Barrington  showed  me  many  astonishing  collections  of 
stuffed  and  living  birds  from  all  quarters  of  the  world.  After 
I  had  studied  over  the  latter  for  a  time,  I  remarked  that  every 
species  almost  that  came  from  distant  regions,  such  as  South 


72  WHITE 

America,  the  coast  of  Guinea,  etc.,  were  thick-billed  birds  of 
the  loxia  and  friiigilla  genera ;  and  no  viotacillcB,  or  niusci- 
capce,  were  to  be  met  with.  When  I  came  to  consider,  the 
reason  was  obvious  enough ;  for  the  hard-billed  birds  subsist 
on  seeds  which  are  easily  carried  on  board ;  while  the  soft- 
billed  birds,  which  are  supported  by  worms  and  insects,  or, 
what  is  a  succeda?ieum  for  them,  fresh  raw  meat,  can  meet  with 
neither  in  long  and  tedious  voyages.  It  is  from  this  defect  of 
food  that  our  collections  (curious  as  they  are)  are  defective, 
and  we  are  deprived  of  some  of  the  most  delicate  and  lively 
genera. 

I  am,  etc. 


LETTER   XXXI 

Selborne,  Sept.  i^h,  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  You  saw,  I  find,  the  ring-ousels  again  among 
their  native  crags ;  and  are  farther  assured  that  they  continue 
resident  in  those  cold  regions  the  whole  year.  From  whence 
then  do  our  ring-ousels  migrate  so  regularly  every  September, 
and  make  their  appearance  again,  as  if  in  their  return,  every 
April?  They  are  more  early  this  year  than  common,  for  some 
were  seen  at  the  usual  hill  on  the  fourth  of  this  month. 

An  observing  Devonshire  gentleman  tells  me  that  they  fre- 
quent some  parts  of  Dartmoor,  and  breed  there ;  but  leave 
those  haunts  about  the  end  of  September,  or  beginning  of 
October,  and  return  again  about  the  end  of  March. 

Another  intelligent  person  assures  me  that  they  breed  in 
great  abundance  all  over  the  peak  of  Derby,  and  are  called 
there  tor-ousels ;  withdraw  in  October  and  November,  and  re- 
turn in  spring.  This  information  seems  to  throw  some  light 
on  my  new  migration. 

Scopoli's  new  work  (which  I  have  just  procured)  has  its 
merit  in  ascertaining  many  of  the  birds  of  the  Tyrol  and  Car- 
niola.  Monographers,  come  from  whence  they  may,  have,  I 
think,  fair  pretence  to  challenge  some  regard  and  approba- 
tion from  the  lovers  of  natural  history ;  for,  as  no  man  can 
alone  investigate  the  works  of  nature,  these  partial  writers 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  73 

may,  each  in  their  department,  be  more  accurate  in  their  dis- 
coveries, and  freer  from  errors,  than  more  general  writers; 
and  so  by  degrees  may  pave  the  way  to  an  universal  correct 
natural  history.  Not  that  Scopoli  is  so  circumstantial  and 
attentive  to  the  life  and  conversation  of  his  birds  as  I  could 
wish :  he  advances  some  false  facts  ;  as  when  he  says  of  the 
hirundo  urbica  that  '^ pullos  extra  nidiim  non  nittrit.'"  This 
assertion  I  know  to  be  wrong  from  repeated  observation  this 
summer ;  for  house-martins  do  feed  their  young  flying,  though 
it  must  be  acknowledged  not  so  commonly  as  the  house-swal- 
low ;  and  the  feat  is  done  in  so  quick  a  manner  as  not  to  be 
perceptible  to  indifferent  observers.  He  also  advances  some 
(I  was  going  to  say)  improbable  facts ;  as  when  he  says  of 
the  woodcock  that  '' pullos  rostro  portat  fugiens  ab  hoste." 
But  candor  forbids  me  to  say  absolutely  that  any  fact  is  false, 
because  I  have  never  been  witness  to  such  a  fact.  I  have 
only  to  remark  that  the  long  unwieldy  bill  of  the  woodcock  is 
perhaps  the  worst  adapted  of  any  among  the  winged  creation 
for  such  a  feat  of  natural  affection.^ 

I  am,  etc. 
Note 

1  It  is  a  fact  that  the  woodcock  does  cairy  its  young.  The  legs  and  beak 
are  both  employed  in  holding  the  young  one  to  the  parent's  breast  as  it 
flies.  — G.  CD. 


LETTER   XXXII 

Selborne,  October  29/^,  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  After  an  ineffectual  search  in  Linnaeus,  Bris- 
son,  etc.,  I  begin  to  suspect  that  I  discern  my  hroih.Qr  &  hirimdo 
hyberna  in  Scopoli' s  new  discovered  hu'imdo  rupestris,  p.  167. 
His  description  of  "Supra  imiri7ia,  siibtiis  albida ;  rectrices 
macicld  ovali  alba  in  latere  interno  ;  pedes  nudi,  nigri  ;  rostrum 
7iigrum  ;  remiges  obscuriores  quam  phinice  dorsales  ;  rectrices 
reniigibus concolores ;  caudd emarginatd,  nee forcipatd ;''  agrees 
very  well  with  the  bird  in  question :  but  when  he  comes  to 
advance  that  it  is  "  statura  hirundinis  urbiccs,''  and  that  "  defi- 
nitio  hirundinis  iiparice  Linncei  Imic  quoque  convemtt,"  he  in 


74  WHITE 

some  measure  invalidates  all  he  has  said ;  at  least  he  shows 
at  once  that  he  compares  them  to  these  species  merely  from 
memory :  for  I  have  compared  the  birds  themselves,  and  find 
they  differ  widely  in  every  circumstance  of  shape,  size,  and 
color.  However,  as  you  will  have  a  specimen,  I  shall  be  glad 
to  hear  what  your  judgment  is  in  the  matter. 

Whether  my  brother  is  forestalled  in  his  nondescript  or  not, 
he  will  have  the  credit  of  first  discovering  that  they  spend  their 
winters  under  the  warm  and  sheltry  shores  of  Gibraltar  and 
Barbary. 

Scopoli's  characters  of  his  ordines  and  genera  are  clear, 
just,  and  expressive,  and  much  in  the  spirit  of  Linnaeus. 
These  few  remarks  are  the  result  of  my  first  perusal  of  Sco- 
poli's "Annus  Primus." 

The  bane  of  our  science  is  the  comparing  one  animal  to 
the  other  by  memory :  for  want  of  caution  in  this  particular 
Scopoli  falls  into  errors  :  he  is  not  so  full  with  regard  to  the 
manners  of  his  indigenous  birds  as  might  be  wished,  as  you 
justly  observe  :  his  Latin  is  easy,  elegant,  and  expressive,  and 
very  superior  to  Kramer's.^ 

I  am  pleased  to  see  that  my  description  of  the  moose  cor- 
responds so  well  with  yours. 

I  am,  etc. 
Note 

^  See  his  "Elenchus  Vegetabilium  et  Animalium  per  Austriam  Inferiorem, 
etc."  — G.  W. 


LETTER   XXXIII 

Selborne,  Nov.  26th,  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  was  much  pleased  to  see,  among  the  collec- 
tion of  birds  from  Gibraltar,  some  of  those  short-winged  Eng- 
lish summer  birds  of  passage,  concerning  whose  departure  we 
have  made  so  much  inquiry.  Now  if  these  birds  are  found 
in  Andalusia  to  migrate  to  and  from  Barbary,  it  may  easily  be 
supposed  that  those  that  come  to  us  may  migrate  back  to  the 
continent,  and  spend  their  winters  in  some  of  the  warmer 
parts  of  Europe.  This  is  certain,  that  many  soft-billed  birds 
that  come  to  Gibraltar  appear  there  only  in  spring  and  autumn. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  75 

seeming  to  advance  in  pairs  towards  the  northward,  for  the 
sake  of  breeding  during  the  summer  months  ;  and  retiring  in 
parties  and  broods  towards  the  south  at  the  decline  of  the 
year ;  so  that  the  rock  of  Gibraltar  is  the  great  rendezvous, 
and  place  of  observation,  from  whence  they  take  their  de- 
parture each  way  towards  Europe  or  Africa.  It  is  therefore 
no  mean  discovery,  I  think,  to  find  that  our  small  short-winged 
summer  birds  of  passage  are  to  be  seen  spring  and  autumn 
on  the  very  skirts  of  Europe ;  it  is  presumptive  proof  of  their 
emigrations. 

Scopoli  seems  to  me  to  have  found  the  hirundo  melba,  the 
great  Gibraltar  swift,  in  the  Tyrol,  without  knowing  it.  For 
what  is  his  hirundo  alpina  but  the  afore-mentioned  bird  in 
other  words  }  Says  he  "  Omnia  prioris  "  (meaning  the  swift) ; 
'^  sed  pectus  albnm  ;  paiilo  major  prioreT  I  do  not  suppose 
this  to  be  a  new  species.  It  is  true  also  of  the  melba,  that 
"  nidificat  in  excelsis  Alpiiim  rupibusy     Vid.  Annum  Primnni. 

My  Sussex  friend,  a  man  of  observation  and  good  sense, 
but  no  naturalist,  to  whom  I  applied  on  account  of  the  stone- 
curlew,  cedicjiemns,  sends  me  the  following  account :  "  In  look- 
ing over  my  Naturalist's  Journal  for  the  month  of  April,  I  find 
the  stone-curlews  are  first  mentioned  on  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth,  which  date  seems  to  me  rather  late.  They  live 
with  us  all  the  spring  and  summer,  and  at  the  beginning  of 
autumn  prepare  to  take  leave  by  getting  together  in  flocks. 
They  seem  to  me  a  bird  of  passage  that  may  travel  into  some 
dry  hilly  country  south  of  us,  probably  Spain,  because  of  the 
abundance  of  sheep-walks  in  that  country ;  for  they  spend 
their  summers  with  us  in  such  districts.  This  conjecture  I 
hazard,  as  I  have  never  met  with  any  one  that  has  seen  them 
in  England  in  the  winter.  I  believe  they  are  not  fond  of  going 
near  the  water,  but  feed  on  earthworms,  that  are  common  on 
sheep-walks  and  downs.  They  breed  on  fallows  and  lay-fields 
abounding  with  gray  mossy  flints,  which  much  resemble  their 
young  in  color ;  among  which  they  skulk  and  conceal  them- 
selves. They  make  no  nest,  but  lay  their  eggs  on  the  bare 
ground,  producing  in  common  but  two  at  a  time.  There  is 
reason  to  think  their  young  run  soon  after  they  are  hatched  ; 
and  that  the  old  ones  do  not  feed  them,  but  only  lead  them 


76  WHITE 

about  at  the  time  of  feeding,  which  for  the  most  part  is  in  the 
night."     Thus  far,  my  friend. 

In  the  manners  of  this  bird  you  see  there  is  something  very 
analogous  to  the  bustard,  whom  it  also  somewhat  resembles 
in  aspect  and  make,  and  in  the  structure  of  its  feet. 

For  a  long  time  I  have  desired  my  relation  to  look  out  for 
these  birds  in  Andalusia ;  and  now  he  writes  me  word  that, 
for  the  first  time,  he  saw  one  dead  in  the  market  on  the  3rd 
September. 

When  the  cedicnemtis  flies  it  stretches  out  its  legs  straight 
behind,  like  a  heron. 

I  am,  etc. 


LETTER   XXXIV 

Selborne,  March  2,0th,  1771. 

Dear  Sir,  —  There  is  an  insect  with  us,  especially  on  chalky 
districts,  which  is  very  troublesome  and  teasing  all  the  latter 
end  of  the  summer,  getting  into  people's  skins,  especially 
those  of  women  and  children,  and  raising  tumors  which  itch 
intolerably.  This  animal  (which  we  call  a  harvest  bug)  is  very 
minute,  scarce  discernible  to  the  naked  eye  ;  of  a  bright  scar- 
let color,  and  of  the  genus  of  Acarus.  They  are  to  be  met 
with  in  gardens  on  kidney-beans,  or  any  legumens,  but  pre- 
vail only  in  the  hot  months  of  summer.  Warreners,  as  some 
have  assured  me,  are  much  infested  by  them  on  chalky  downs  ; 
where  these  insects  swarm  sometimes  to  so  infinite  a  degree 
as  to  discolor  their  nets,  and  to  give  them  a  reddish  cast,  while 
the  men  are  so  bitten  as  to  be  thrown  into  fevers. 

There  is  a  small  long  shining  fly  in  these  parts  very  trouble- 
some to  the  housewife,  by  getting  into  the  chimneys,  and  lay- 
ing its  eggs  in  the  bacon  while  it  is  drying ;  these  eggs  produce 
maggots  called  jumpers,  which,  harboring  in  the  gammons  and 
best  parts  of  the  hogs,  eat  down  to  the  bone,  and  make  great 
waste.  This  fly  I  suspect  to  be  a  variety  of  the  imisca  putris 
of  Linnaeus ;  it  is  to  be  seen  in  the  summer  in  farm-kitchens 
on  the  bacon-racks  and  about  the  mantel-pieces,  and  on  the 
ceilings. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  TJ 

The  insect  that  infests  turnips  and  many  crops  in  the  garden 
(destroying  often  whole  fields  while  in  their  seedling  leaves)  is 
an  animal  that  wants  to  be  better  known.  The  country-people 
here  call  it  the  turnip-fly  and  black-dolphin ;  but  I  know  it  to 
be  one  of  the  coleoptera;  the  "  c/nysoniela  oleracea,  saltatoria, 
femoTibiis  posticis  crassissimis."  In  very  hot  summers  they 
abound  to  an  amazing  degree,  and,  as  you  walk  in  a  field  or  in 
a  garden,  make  a  pattering  like  rain,  by  jumping  on  the  leaves 
of  the  turnips  or  cabbages. 

There  is  an  oestrus,  known  in  these  parts  to  every  plough- 
boy;  which,  because  it  is  omitted  by  Linnaeus,  is  also  passed 
over  by  late  writers  ;  and  that  is  the  cnrvicaiida  of  old  Mouset, 
mentioned  by  Derham  in  his  "  Physico-Theology,"  p.  250;  an 
insect  worthy  of  remark  for  depositing  its  eggs  as  it  flies  in  so 
dexterous  a  manner  on  the  single  hairs  of  the  legs  and  flanks 
of  grass-horses.  But  then  Derham  is  mistaken  when  he  ad- 
vances that  this  oestrus  is  the  parent  of  that  wonderful  star- 
tailed  maggot  which  he  mentions  afterwards  ;  for  more  modern 
entomologists  have  discovered  that  singular  production  to  be 
derived  from  the  ^g,^,  or  the  musca  chamceleon  ;  see  Geoffroy, 
t.  xvii.  f.  4. 

A  full  history  of  noxious  insects  hurtful  in  the  field,  garden, 
and  house,  suggesting  all  the  known  and  likely  means  of  de- 
stroying them,  would  be  allowed  by  the  public  to  be  a  most  use- 
ful and  important  work.  What  knowledge  there  is  of  this  sort 
lies  scattered,  and  wants  to  be  collected ;  great  improvements 
would  soon  follow  of  course.  A  knowledge  of  the  properties, 
economy,  propagation,  and  in  short  of  the  life  and  conversa- 
tion of  these  animals  is  a  necessary  step  to  lead  us  to  some 
method  of  preventing  their  depredations. 

As  far  as  I  am  a  judge,  nothing  would  recommend  ento- 
mology more  than  some  neat  plates  that  should  well  express 
the  generic  distinctions  of  insects  according  to  Linnaeus ;  for 
I  am  well  assured  that  many  people  would  study  insects,  could 
they  set  out  with  a  more  adequate  notion  of  those  distinctions 
than  can  be  conveyed  at  first  by  words  alone. 


78  WHITE 


LETTER   XXXV 

Selborne,  1 77 1. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Happening  to  make  a  visit  to  my  neighbor's 
peacocks,  I  could  not  help  observing  that  the  trains  of  those 
magnificent  birds  appear  by  no  means  to  be  their  tails ;  those 
long  feathers  growing  not  from  their  uropygiiim,  but  all  up  their 
backs.  A  range  of  short  brown  stiff  feathers,  about  six  inches 
long,  fixed  in  the  uropygiiim,  is  the  real  tail,  and  serves  as  the 
fulcrum  to  prop  the  train,  which  is  long  and  top-heavy,  when 
set  on  end.  When  the  train  is  up,  nothing  appears  of  the  bird 
before  but  his  head  and  neck ;  but  this  would  not  be  the  case 
were  those  long  feathers  fixed  only  in  the  rump,  as  may  be 
seen  by  the  turkey  cock  when  in  a  strutting  attitude.  By  a 
strong  muscular  vibration  these  birds  can  make  the  shafts  of 
their  long  feathers  clatter  like  the  swords  of  a  sword  dancer ; 
they  then  trample  very  quick  with  their  feet,  and  run  back- 
wards towards  the  females. 

I  should  tell  you  that  I  have  got  an  uncommon  calculus 
csgogropila,  taken  out  of  the  stomach  of  a  fat  ox ;  it  is  per- 
fectly round,  and  about  the  size  of  a  large  Seville  orange; 
such  are,  I  think,  usually  flat. 


LETTER   XXXVI 

Sept.  1771. 

Dear  Sir,  —  The  summer  through  I  have  seen  but  two  of 
that  large  species  of  bat  which  I  call  vespertilio  altivolans, 
from  its  manner  of  feeding  high  in  the  air ;  I  procured  one  of 
them,  and  found  it  to  be  a  male ;  and  made  no  doubt,  as  they 
accompanied  together,  that  the  other  was  a  female ;  but,  hap- 
pening in  an  evening  or  two  to  procure  the  other  likewise,  I 
was  somewhat  disappointed,  when  it  appeared  to  be  also  of 
the  same  sex.  This  circumstance,  and  the  great  scarcity  of 
this  sort,  at  least  in  these  parts,  occasions  some  suspicions  in 
my  mind  whether  it  is  really  a  species,  or  whether  it  may  not 
be  the  male  part  of  the  more  known  species,  one  of  which 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  79 

may  supply  many  females ;  as  is  known  to  be  the  case  in 
sheep  and  some  other  quadrupeds.  But  this  doubt  can  only 
be  cleared  by  a  farther  examination,  and  some  attention  to  the 
sex,  of  more  specimens:  all  that  I  know  at  present  is,  that  my 
two  were  amply  furnished  with  the  parts  of  generation,  much 
resembling  those  of  a  boar. 

In  the  extent  of  their  wings  they  measured  fourteen  inches 
and  a  half ;  and  four  inches  and  a  half  from  the  nose  to  the 
tip  of  the  tail ;  their  heads  were  large,  their  nostrils  bilobated, 
their  shoulders  broad  and  muscular ;  and  their  whole  bodies 
fleshy  and  plump.  Nothing  could  be  more  sleek  and  soft  than 
their  fur,  which  was  of  a  bright  chestnut  color ;  their  maws 
were  full  of  food,  but  so  macerated  that  the  quality  could  not 
be  distinguished  ;  their  livers,  kidneys,  and  hearts  were  large, 
and  their  bowels  covered  with  fat.  They  weighed  each,  when 
entire,  full  one  ounce  and  one  drachm.  Within  the  ear  there 
was  somewhat  of  a  peculiar  structure  that  I  did  not  under- 
stand perfectly  !  but  refer  it  to  the  observation  of  the  curious 
anatomist.  These  creatures  sent  forth  a  very  rancid  and 
offensive  smell. 


LETTER   XXXVII 

Selborne,  1 77 1. 

Dear  Sir,  —  On  the  12th  July  I  had  a  fair  opportunity  of 
contemplating  the  motions  of  the  caprimulgns,  or  fern-owl,  as 
it  was  playing  round  a  large  oak  that  swarmed  with  scarabcsi 
solstitiales,  or  fern-chafers.  The  powers  of  its  wing  were 
wonderful,  exceeding,  if  possible,  the  various  evolutions  and 
quick  turns  of  the  swallow  genus.  But  the  circumstance  that 
pleased  me  most  was,  that  I  saw  it  distinctly,  more  than  once, 
put  out  its  short  leg  while  on  the  wing,  and,  by  a  bend  of  the 
head,  deliver  somewhat  into  its  mouth.  If  it  takes  any  part 
of  its  prey  with  its  foot,  as  I  have  now  the  greatest  reason  to 
suppose  it  does  these  chafers,  I  no  longer  wonder  at  the  use 
of  its  middle  toe,  which  is  curiously  furnished  with  a  serrated 
claw. 

Swallows  and  martins,  the  bulk  of  them  I  mean,  have  for- 


80  WHITE 

saken  us  sooner  this  year  than  usual ;  for  on  September  22nd 
they  rendezvoused  in  a  neighbor's  walnut-tree,  where  it 
seemed  probable  they  had  taken  up  their  lodging  for  the 
night.  At  the  dawn  of  the  day,  which  was  foggy,  they  arose 
all  together  in  infinite  numbers,  occasioning  such  a  rushing 
from  the  strokes  of  their  wings  against  the  hazy  air,  as  might 
be  heard  to  a  considerable  distance :  since  that  no  flock  has 
appeared,  only  a  few  stragglers. 

Some  swifts  stayed  late,  till  the  22nd  August  —  a  rare  in- 
stance !  for  they  usually  withdraw  within  the  first  week. 

On  September  24th  three  or  four  ring-ousels  appeared  in 
my  fields  for  the  first  time  this  season  ;  how  punctual  are  these 
visitors  in  their  autumnal  and  spring  migrations ! 


LETTER   XXXVIII 

Selborne,  March  i^ih,  1773. 

Dear  Sir,  —  By  my  journal  for  last  autumn  it  appears  that 
the  house-martins  bred  very  late,  and  stayed  very  late  in  these 
parts;  for,  on  the  ist  October,  I  saw  young  martins  in  their 
nest  nearly  fledged;  and  again  on  the  21st  October,  we  had 
at  the  next  house  a  nest  full  of  young  martins  just  ready  to 
fly;  and  the  old  ones  were  hawking  for  insects  with  great 
alertness.  The  next  morning  the  brood  forsook  their  nest, 
and  were  flying  round  the  village.  From  this  day  I  never  saw 
one  of  the  swallow  kind  till  November  3rd;  when  twenty,  or 
perhaps  thirty,  house-martins  were  playing  all  day  long  by  the 
side  of  the  hanging  wood,  and  over  my  field.  Did  these  small 
weak  birds,  some  of  which  were  nestling  twelve  days  ago,  shift 
their  quarters  at  this  late  season  of  the  year  to  the  other  side 
of  the  northern  tropic .?  Or  rather,  is  it  not  more  probable 
that  the  next  church,  ruin,  chalk-cliff,  steep  covert,  or  perhaps 
sandbank,  lake  or  pool  (as  a  more  northern  naturalist  would 
say),  may  become  their  hybernacuhcm,  and  afford  them  a  ready 
and  obvious  retreat } 

We  now  begin  to  expect  our  vernal  migration  of  ring-ousels 
every  week.     Persons  worthy  of  credit  assure  me  that  ring- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  8 1 

ousels  were  seen  at  Christmas  1770  in  the  forest  of  Bere,  on 
the  southern  verge  of  this  county.  Hence  we  may  conclude 
that  their  migrations  are  only  internal,  and  not  extended  to  the 
continent  southward,  if  they  do  at  first  come  at  all  from  the 
northern  parts  of  this  island  only,  and  not  from  the  north  of 
Europe.  Come  from  whence  they  will,  it  is  plain,  from  the 
fearless  disregard  that  they  show  for  men  or  guns,  that  they 
have  been  little  accustomed  to  places  of  much  resort.  Navi- 
gators mention  that  in  the  Isle  of  Ascension,  and  other  such 
desolate  districts,  birds  are  so  little  acquainted  with  the  human 
form  that  they  settle  on  men's  shoulders ;  and  have  no  more 
dread  of  a  sailor  than  they  would  have  of  a  goat  that  was 
grazing.^  A  young  man  at  Lewes,  in  Sussex,  assured  me  that 
about  seven  years  ago  ring-ousels  abounded  so  about  that 
town  in  the  autumn  that  he  killed  sixteen  himself  in  one  after- 
noon ;  he  added  further,  that  some  had  appeared  since  in  every 
autumn ;  but  he  could  not  find  that  any  had  been  observed 
before  the  season  in  which  he  shot  so  many.  I  myself  have 
found  these  birds  in  little  parties  in  the  autumn  cantoned  all 
along  the  Sussex  Downs,  wherever  there  were  shrubs  and 
bushes,  from  Chichester  to  Lewes ;  particularly  in  the  autumn 

of  1770. 

I  am,  etc. 
Note 

1  Even  in  England  birds  often  show  great  confidence  in  man.  One  even- 
ing last  summer  I  was  sitting  in  Jesmond  Dene,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  when 
a  robin  hopped  close  by  me ;  and  as  I  kept  perfectly  still,  it  inspected  me 
closely,  flew  on  to  my  boot,  on  to  the  seat  by  my  side,  and  closely  inspected 
my  hand,  then  hopped  on  to  my  knee,  and  finally  on  to  my  shoulder.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XXXIX 

Selborne,  Nov.  ()th,  1773. 

Dear  Sir,  —  As  you  desire  me  to  send  you  such  observa- 
tions as  may  occur,  I  take  the  liberty  of  making  the  following 
remarks,  that  you  may,  according  as  you  think  me  right  or 
wrong,  admit  or  reject  what  I  here  advance,  in  your  intended 
new  edition  of  the  "  British  Zoology." 
7 


82  WHITE 

The  osprey  was  shot  about  a  year  ago  at  Frinsham  Pond,  a 
great  lake  at  about  six  miles  from  hence,  while  it  was  sitting 
on  the  handle  of  a  plough  and  devouring  a  fish  :  it  used  to  pre- 
cipitate itself  into  the  water,  and  so  take  its  prey  by  surprise. 

A  great  ash-colored  butcher-bird  was  shot  last  winter  in 
Tisted  Park,  and  a  red-backed  butcher-bird  [shrike]  at  Sel- 
borne  :  they  are  rarce  aves  in  this  country.^ 

Crows  go  in  pairs  all  the  year  round. 

Cornish  choughs  abound,  and  breed  on  Beechy  Head,  and 
on  all  the  cliffs  of  the  Sussex  coast. 

The  common  wild  pigeon,  or  stock-dove,^  is  a  bird  of  pas- 
sage in  the  south  of  England,  seldom  appearing  till  towards 
the  end  of  November ;  is  usually  the  latest  winter  bird  of  pas- 
sage. Before  our  beechen  woods  were  so  much  destroyed  we 
had  myriads  of  them,  reaching  in  strings  for  a  mile  together 
as  they  went  out  in  a  morning  to  feed.  They  leave  us  early 
in  spring :  where  do  they  breed  } 

The  people  of  Hampshire  and  Sussex  call  the  missel-bird 
the  storm-cock,  because  it  sings  early  in  the  spring  in  blowing 
showery  weather ;  its  song  often  commences  with  the  year : 
with  us  it  builds  much  in  orchards. 

A  gentleman  assures  me  he  has  taken  the  nests  of  ring-ousels 
on  Dartmoor :  they  build  in  banks  on  the  sides  of  streams. 

Titlarks  not  only  sing  sweetly  as  they  sit  on  trees,  but  also 
as  they  play  and  toy  about  on  the  wing  ;  and  particularly  while 
they  are  descending,  and  sometimes  they  stand  on  the  ground. 

Adanson's  testimony  seems  to  me  to  be  a  very  poor  evidence 
that  European  swallows  migrate  during  our  winter  to  Senegal : 
he  does  not  talk  at  all  like  an  ornithologist ;  and  probably  saw 
only  the  swallows  of  that  country,  which  I  know  build  within 
Governor  O'Hara's  hall  against  the  roof.  Had  he  known 
European  swallows,  would  he  not  have  mentioned  the  species  ? 

The  house-swallow  washes  by  dropping  into  the  water  as  it 
flies  :  this  species  appears  commonly  about  a  week  before  the 
house-martin,  and  about  ten  or  twelve  days  before  the  swift. 

In  1772  there  were  young  house-martins  in  their  nest  till 
October  23rd. 

The  swift  appears  about  ten  or  twelve  days  later  than  the 
house-swallow,  viz.,  about  the  24th  or  26th  April. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  83 

Whin-chats  and  stone-chatters  stay  with  us  the  whole  year.^ 

Some  wheat-ears  continue  with  us  the  winter  through. 

Wagtails,  all  sorts,  remain  with  us  all  the  winter.* 

Bullfinches,  when  fed  on  hempseed,  often  become  wholly 
black. 

We  have  vast  flocks  of  female  chaffinches  all  the  winter, 
with  hardly  any  males  among  them. 

When  you  say  that  in  breeding  time  the  cock  snips  make  a 
bleating  noise,  and  I  a  drumming  (perhaps  I  should  rather 
have  said  a  humming),  I  suspect  we  mean  the  same  thing. 
However,  while  they  are  playing  about  on  the  wing  they 
certainly  make  a  loud  piping  with  their  mouths :  but  whether 
that  bleating  or  humming  is  ventriloquous,  or  proceeds  from 
the  motion  of  their  wings,  I  cannot  say  ;  but  this  I  know,  that 
when  this  noise  happens  the  bird  is  always  descending,  and 
his  wings  are  violently  agitated. 

Soon  after  the  lapwings  have  done  breeding  they  congre- 
gate, and,  leaving  the  moors  and  marshes,  betake  themselves 
to  downs  and  sheep-walks. 

Two  years  ago  last  spring  the  little  auk  was  found  alive  and 
unhurt,  but  fluttering  and  unable  to  rise,  in  a  lane  a  few  miles 
from  Alresford,  where  there  is  a  great  lake :  it  was  kept 
awhile,  but  died. 

I  saw  young  teals  taken  alive  in  the  ponds  of  Wolmer  Forest 
in  the  beginning  of  July  last,  along  with  flappers,  or  young 
wild-ducks. 

Speaking  of  the  swift,  that  page  says  "its  drink  the  dew;" 
whereas  it  should  be  "it  drinks  on  the  wing;"  for  all  the 
swallow  kind  sip  their  water  as  they  sweep  over  the  face  of 
pools  or  rivers:  like  Virgil's  bees,  they  drink  flying  ;  ''flinnina 
smnma  libant.'"  In  this  method  of  drinking  perhaps  this 
genus  may  be  peculiar. 

Of  the  sedge-bird  be  pleased  to  say  it  sings  most  part  of  the 
night ;  its  notes  are  hurrying,  but  not  unpleasing,  and  imita- 
tive of  several  birds  ;  as  the  sparrow,  swallow,  skylark.  When 
it  happens  to  be  silent  in  the  night,  by  throwing  a  stone  or 
clod  into  the  bushes  where  it  sits  you  immediately  set  it 
a  singing ;  or  in  other  words,  though  it  slumbers  sometimes, 
yet  as  soon  as  it  is  awakened  it  reassumes  its  song. 


84  WHITE 


Notes 

1  The  red-backed  butcher-bird,  or  shrike,  is  common  enough  in  some  dis- 
tricts. I  found  several  nests  one  year  in  some  thorn-trees  in  a  small  field 
in  Norfolk.  The  shrike  has  a  habit  of  impaling  the  beetles  or  other  small 
live  creatures  it  feeds  upon,  on  the  thorns,  to  await  its  convenience  for  eat- 
ing them,  and  some  spots  have  quite  the  appearance  of  a  well-stocked  larder. 
—  G.  C.  D. 

2  The  stock-dove  is  not  the  common  wild  pigeon.  The  pigeons  usually 
found  in  England  are  the  ring-dove,  which  makes  its  nests  on  trees,  and  is 
called  the  cushat,  or  in  Shropshire  the  qiiice,  the  stock-dove,  which  breeds 
in  holes  in  trees,  and  also  in  rabbit  holes ;  the  rock-dove,  and  the  pretty 
little  turtle-dove,  which  builds  so  slight  a  nest  in  a  tree  or  big  bush  that  the 
small  white  eggs  can  be  seen  through  it  from  below.  —  G.  C.  D. 

3  Whin-chats  migrate,  but  stone-chats  do  not  as  a  rule.  —  G.  C.  D. 

*  The  yellow-wagtail  migrates,  but  the  pied  and  gray  wagtails  do  not.  — 
G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XL 

Selborne,  Sept.  2nd,  1774. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Before  your  letter  arrived,  and  of  my  own 
accord,  I  had  been  remarking  and  comparing  the  tails  of  the 
male  and  female  swallow,  and  this  ere  any  young  broods  ap- 
peared ;  so  that  there  was  no  danger  of  confounding  the  dams 
with  their  pulli:  and  besides,  as  they  were  then  always  in 
pairs,  and  busied  in  the  employ  of  nidification,  there  could  be 
no  room  for  mistaking  the  sexes,  nor  the  individuals  of  differ- 
ent chimneys  the  one  for  the  other.  From  all  my  observations, 
it  constantly  appeared  that  each  sex  has  the  long  feathers  in 
its  tail  that  give  it  that  forked  shape;  with  this  difference, 
that  they  are  longer  in  the  tail  of  the  male  than  in  that  of  the 
female. 

Nightingales,  when  their  young  first  come  abroad,  and  are 
helpless,  make  a  plaintive  and  jarring  noise  ;  and  also  a  snap- 
ping or  cracking,  pursuing  people  along  the  hedges  as  they 
walk:  these  last  sounds  seem  intended  for  menace  and  de- 
fiance. 

The  grasshopper-lark  chirps  all  night  in  the  height  of 
summer. 

Swans  turn  white  the  second  year,  and  breed  the  third. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  85 

Weasels  prey  on  moles,  as  appears  by  their  being  some- 
times caught  in  mole-traps. 

Sparrow-hawks  sometimes  breed  in  old  crows'  nests,  and 
the  kestril  in  churches  and  ruins. 

There  are  supposed  to  be  two  sorts  of  eels  in  the  island 
of  Ely.  The  threads  sometimes  discovered  in  eels  are  per- 
haps their  young:  the  generation  of  eels  is  very  dark  and 
mysterious. 

Hen  harriers  breed  on  the  ground,  and  seem  never  to  settle 
on  trees. 

When  redstarts  shake  their  tails  they  move  them  horizon- 
tally, as  dogs  do  when  they  fawn :  the  tail  of  a  wagtail,  when 
in  motion,  bobs  up  and  down  like  that  of  a  jaded  horse. 

Hedge-sparrows  have  a  remarkable  flirt  with  their  wings  in 
breeding  time ;  as  soon  as  frosty  mornings  come  they  make  a 
very  piping  plaintive  noise. 

Many  birds  which  become  silent  about  midsummer  reassume 
their  notes  again  in  September;  as  the  thrush,  blackbird, 
woodlark,  willow-wren,  etc.  ;  hence  August  is  by  much  the 
most  mute  month,  the  spring,  summer,  and  autumn  through. 
Are  birds  induced  to  sing  again  because  the  temperament  of 
autumn  resembles  that  of  spring .-" 

Linnaeus  ranges  plants  geographically ;  palms  inhabit  the 
tropics,  grasses  the  temperate  zones,  and  mosses  and  lichens 
the  polar  circles ;  no  doubt  animals  may  be  classed  in  the 
same  manner  with  propriety. 

House-sparrows  build  under  eaves  in  the  spring;  as  the 
weather  becomes  hotter  they  get  out  for  coolness,  and  nest 
in  plum-trees  and  apple-trees.  These  birds  have  been  known 
sometimes  to  build  in  rooks'  nests,  and  sometimes  in  the  forks 
of  boughs  under  rooks'  nests. 

As  my  neighbor  was  housing  a  rick  he  observed  that  his 
dogs  devoured  all  the  little  red  mice  that  they  could  catch, 
but  rejected  the  common  mice ;  and  that  his  cats  ate  the 
common  mice,  refusing  the  red. 

Redbreasts  sing  all  through  the  spring,  summer,  and  au- 
tumn. The  reason  that  they  are  called  autumn  songsters  is, 
because  in  the  two  first  seasons  their  voices  are  drowned  and 
lost  in  the  general  chorus ;  in  the  latter  their  song  becomes 


86  WHITE 

distinguishable.  Many  songsters  of  the  autumn  seem  to  be 
the  young  cock  redbreasts  of  that  year  :  notwithstanding  the 
prejudices  in  their  favor,  they  do  much  mischief  in  gardens 
to  the  summer-fruits.-^ 

The  titmouse,  which  early  in  February  begins  to  make  two 
quaint  notes,  like  the  whetting  of  a  saw,  is  the  marsh  titmouse  ; 
the  great  titmouse  sings  with  three  cheerful  joyous  notes,  and 
begins  about  the  same  time. 

Wrens  sing  all  the  winter  through,  frost  excepted. 

House-martins  came  remarkably  late  this  year  both  in  Hamp- 
shire and  Devonshire :  is  this  circumstance  for  or  against  either 
hiding  or  migration  ? 

Most  birds  drink  sipping  at  intervals ;  but  pigeons  take  a 
long-continued  draught,  like  quadrupeds. 

Notwithstanding  what  I  have  said  in  a  former  letter,  no 
gray  crows  were  ever  known  to  breed  on  Dartmoor ;  it  was 
my  mistake. 

The  appearance  and  flying  of  the  Scarabcsus  solstitialis,  or 
fern-chafer,  commence  with  the  month  of  July,  and  cease  about 
the  end  of  it.  These  scarabs  are  the  constant  food  of  CapH- 
■niidgi,  or  fern-owls,  through  that  period.  They  abound  on  the 
chalky  downs  and  in  some  sandy  districts,  but  not  in  the  clays. 

In  the  garden  of  the  Black  Bear  inn  in  the  town  of  Reading, 
is  a  stream  or  canal  running  under  the  stables  and  out  into  the 
fields  on  the  other  side  of  the  road :  in  this  water  are  many 
carps,  which  lie  rolling  about  in  sight,  being  fed  by  travellers, 
who  amuse  themselves  by  tossing  them  bread  ;  but  as  soon  as 
the  weather  grows  at  all  severe,  these  fishes  are  no  longer  seen, 
because  they  retire  under  the  stables,  where  they  remain  till 
the  return  of  spring.  Do  they  lie  in  a  torpid  state .''  If  they 
do  not,  how  are  they  supported .-'  ^ 

The  note  of  the  whitethroat,  which  is  continually  repeated, 
and  often  attended  with  odd  gesticulations  on  the  wing,  is  harsh 
and  displeasing.  These  birds  seem  of  a  pugnacious  disposi- 
tion ;  for  they  sing  with  an  erected  crest  and  attitudes  of  rivalry 
and  defiance ;  are  shy  and  wild  in  breeding  time,  avoiding  neigh- 
borhoods, and  haunting  lonely  lanes  and  commons  ;  nay,  even 
the  very  tops  of  the  Sussex  Downs,  where  there  are  bushes 
and  covert ;  but  in  July  and  August  they  bring  their  broods 


From  col   Chi.  Acad.  Sciences. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  8/ 

into  gardens  and  orchards,  and  make  great  havoc  among  the 
summer-fruits. 

The  blackcap  has  in  common  a  full,  sweet,  deep,  loud,  and 
wild  pipe ;  yet  that  strain  is  of  short  continuance,  and  his 
motions  are  desultory  ;  but  when  that  bird  sits  calmly  and  en- 
gages in  song  in  earnest,  he  pours  forth  very  sweet,  but  in- 
ward melody,  and  expresses  great  variety  of  soft  and  gentle 
modulations,  superior  perhaps  to  those  of  any  of  our  warblers, 
the  nightingale  excepted. 

Blackcaps  mostly  haunt  orchards  and  gardens  ;  while  they 
warble  their  throats  are  wonderfully  distended. 

The  song  of  the  redstart  is  superior,  though  somewhat  like 
that  of  the  whitethroat ;  some  birds  have  a  few  more  notes 
than  others.  Sitting  very  placidly  on  the  top  of  a  tall  tree  in 
a  village,  the  cock  sings  from  morning  to  night :  he  affects 
neighborhoods,  and  avoids  solitude,  and  loves  to  build  in  or- 
chards and  about  houses ;  with  us  he  perches  on  the  vane  of 
a  tall  maypole. 

The  fly-catcher  is  of  all  our  summer  birds  the  most  mute 
and  the  most  familiar ;  it  also  appears  the  last  of  any.  It 
builds  in  a  vine,  or  a  sweetbrier,  against  the  wall  of  a  house, 
or  in  the  hole  of  a  wall,  or  on  the  end  of  a  beam  or  plate,  and 
often  close  to  the  post  of  a  door  where  people  are  going  in 
and  out  all  day  long.  This  bird  does  not  make  the  least  pre- 
tension to  song,  but  uses  a  little  inward  wailing  note  when  it 
thinks  its  young  in  danger  from  cats  or  other  annoyances ;  it 
breeds  but  once,  and  retires  early. 

Selborne  parish  alone  can  and  has  exhibited  at  times  more 
than  half  the  birds  that  are  ever  seen  in  all  Sweden ;  the  for- 
mer has  produced  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  species, 
the  latter  only  two  hundred  and  twenty-one.  Let  me  add  also 
that  it  has  shown  near  half  the  species  that  were  ever  known 
in  Great  Britain. 

On  a  retrospect,  I  observe  that  my  long  letter  carries  with 
it  a  quaint  and  magisterial  air,  and  is  very  sententious ;  but 
when  I  recollect  that  you  requested  stricture  and  anecdote,  I 
hope  you  will  pardon  the  didactic  manner  for  the  sake  of  the 
information  it  may  happen  to  contain. 


88  WHITE 


Notes 


1  They  eat  also  the  berries  of  the  ivy,  the  honeysuckle,  and  the  Euonymus 
eiiropceus,  or  spindle-tree.  —  G.  W. 

2  Carp,  tench,  and  eels  retire  into  the  mud,  if  it  is  soft  enough,  in  the  very 
cold  weather,  but  cannot  be  said  to  become  torpid,  like  a  tortoise  does.  Fish 
can  do  for  a  long  time  with  very  little  food,  and  the  mud  itself  is  full  of  eat- 
able (in  the  fish  view)  things  even  in  the  winter.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XLI 

It  is  matter  of  curious  inquiry  to  trace  out  how  those  species 
of  soft-billed  birds  that  continue  with  us  the  winter  through, 
subsist  during  the  dead  months.  The  imbecility  of  birds  seems 
not  to  be  the  only  reason  why  they  shun  the  rigor  of  our  win- 
ters ;  for  the  robust  wryneck  (so  much  resembling  the  hardy 
race  of  woodpeckers)  migrates,  while  the  feeble  little  golden- 
crowned  wren,  that  shadow  of  a  bird,  braves  our  severest  frosts 
without  availing  himself  of  houses  or  villages,  to  which  most 
of  our  winter  birds  crowd  in  distressful  seasons,  while  this 
keeps  aloof  in  fields  and  woods ;  but  perhaps  this  may  be  the 
reason  why  they  may  often  perish,  and  why  they  are  almost 
as  rare  as  any  bird  we  know. 

I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  but  that  the  soft-billed  birds,  which 
winter  with  us,  subsist  chiefly  on  insects  in  their  aurelia  state. 
All  the  species  of  wagtails  in  severe  weather  haunt  shallow 
streams  near  the  spring  heads,  where  they  never  freeze ;  and, 
by  wading,  pick  out  the  aurelias  of  the  genus  of  Phryganece,  etc. 

Hedge-sparrows  frequent  sinks  and  gutters  in  hard  weather, 
where  they  pick  up  crumbs  and  other  sweepings  ;  and  in  mild 
weather  they  procure  worms,  which  are  stirring  every  month 
in  the  year,  as  any  one  may  see  that  will  only  be  at  the  trouble 
of  taking  a  candle  to  a  grass-plot  on  any  mild  winter's  night. 
Redbreasts  and  wrens  in  the  winter  haunt  out-houses,  stables, 
and  barns,  where  they  find  spiders  and  flies  that  have  laid  them- 
selves up  during  the  cold  season.  But  the  grand  support  of 
the  soft-billed  birds  in  winter  is  that  infinite  profusion  of  au- 
reha  of  the  Lepidoptera  oi'do,  which  is  fastened  to  the  twigs  of 
trees  and  their  trunks ;  to  the  pales  and  walls  of  gardens  and 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  89 

buildings ;  and  is  found  in  every  cranny  and  cleft  of  rock  or 
rubbish,  and  even  in  the  ground  itself. 

Every  species  of  titmouse  winters  with  us ;  they  have  what 
I  call  a  kind  of  intermediate  bill  between  the  hard  and  the  soft, 
between  the  Linnaean  genera  of  Fringilla  and  Motacilla.  One 
species  alone  spends  its  whole  time  in  the  woods  and  fields, 
never  retreating  for  succor  in  the  severest  seasons  to  houses 
and  neighborhoods ;  and  that  is  the  delicate  long-tailed  tit- 
mouse, which  is  almost  as  minute  as  the  golden-crowned  wren ; 
but  the  blue  titmouse  or  nun  {Parus  ccBruleus),  the  coal-mouse 
{Parus  titer),  the  great  black-headed  titmouse  {Fringillago), 
and  the  marsh  titmouse  {Parus  paliistris\  all  resort  at  times 
to  buildings,  and  in  hard  weather  particularly.  The  great 
titmouse,  driven  by  stress  of  weather,  much  frequents  houses ; 
and,  in  deep  snows,  I  have  seen  this  bird,  while  it  hung  with 
its  back  downwards  (to  my  no  small  delight  and  admiration), 
draw  straws  lengthwise  from  out  the  eaves  of  thatched  houses, 
in  order  to  pull  out  the  flies  that  \vere  concealed  between  them, 
and  that  in  such  numbers  that  they  quite  defaced  the  thatch, 
and  gave  it  a  ragged  appearance. 

The  blue  titmouse,  or  nun,  is  a  great  frequenter  of  houses, 
and  a  general  devourer.  Besides  insects,  it  is  very  fond  of 
flesh  ;  for  it  frequently  picks  bones  on  dunghills  :  it  is  a  vast 
admirer  of  suet,  and  haunts  butchers'  shops.  When  a  boy,  I 
have  known  twenty  in  a  morning  caught  with  snap  mouse- 
traps, baited  with  tallow  or  suet.  It  will  also  pick  holes  in 
apples  left  on  the  ground,  and  be  well  entertained  with  the 
seeds  on  the  head  of  a  sunflower.  The  blue,  marsh,  and  great 
titmice  will,  in  very  severe  weather,  carry  away  barley  and  oat- 
straws  from  the  sides  of  ricks. 

How  the  wheat-ear  and  whin-chat  support  themselves  in 
winter  cannot  be  so  easily  ascertained,  since  they  spend  their 
time  on  wild  heaths  and  warrens ;  the  former  especially,  where 
there  are  stone  quarries :  most  probably  it  is  that  their  main- 
tenance arises  from  the  aurelice  of  the  Lepidoptera  ordo,  which 
furnish  them  with  a  plentiful  table  in  the  wilderness. 

I  am,  etc. 


90  WHITE 


LETTER   XLII 

Selborne,  March  ()th,  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Some  future  faunist,  a  man  of  fortune,  will,  I 
hope,  extend  his  visits  to  the  kingdom  of  Ireland;  anew  field 
and  a  country  little  known  to  the  naturalist.  He  will  not,  it 
is  to  be  wished,  undertake  that  tour  unaccompanied  by  a 
botanist,  because  the  mountains  have  scarcely  been  sufficiently 
examined ;  and  the  southerly  counties  of  so  mild  an  island 
may  possibly  afford  some  plants  little  to  be  expected  within 
the  British  dominions.  A  person  of  a  thinking  turn  of  mind 
will  draw  many  just  remarks  from  the  modern  improvements 
of  that  country,  both  in  arts  and  agriculture,  where  premiums 
obtained  long  before  they  were  heard  of  with  us.  The  man- 
ners of  the  wild  natives,  their  superstitions,  their  prejudices, 
their  sordid  way  of  life,  will  extort  from  him  many  useful  re- 
flections. He  should  also  take  with  him  an  able  draughtsman ; 
for  he  must  by  no  means  pass  over  the  noble  castles  and  seats, 
the  extensive  and  picturesque  lakes  and  waterfalls,  and  the 
lofty  stupendous  mountains,  so  little  known,  and  so  engaging 
to  the  imagination  when  described  and  exhibited  in  a  lively 
manner ;  such  a  work  would  be  well  received. 

As  I  have  seen  no  modern  map  of  Scotland,  I  cannot  pre- 
tend to  say  how  accurate  or  particular  any  such  may  be  ;  but 
this  I  know,  that  the  best  old  maps  of  that  kingdom  are  very 
defective. 

The  great  obvious  defect  that  I  have  remarked  in  all  maps 
of  Scotland  that  have  fallen  in  my  way  is  a  want  of  a  colored 
line,  or  stroke,  that  shall  exactly  define  the  just  limits  of  that 
district  called  the  Highlands.  Moreover,  all  the  great  avenues 
to  that  mountainous  and  romantic  country  want  to  be  well 
distinguished.  The  military  roads  formed  by  General  Wade 
are  so  great  and  Roman-like  an  undertaking  that  they  well 
merit  attention.  My  old  map,  Moll's  Map,  takes  notice  of 
Fort  William,  but  could  not  mention  the  other  forts  that  have 
been  erected  long  since;  therefore  a  good  representation  of 
the  chain  of  forts  should  not  be  omitted. 

The  celebrated  zigzag  up  the  Coryarich  must  not  be  passed 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  91 

over.  Moll  takes  notice  of  Hamilton  and  Drumlanrig,  and 
such  capital  houses ;  but  a  new  survey,  no  doubt,  should 
represent  every  seat  and  castle  remarkable  for  any  great 
event,  or  celebrated  for  its  paintings,  etc.  Lord  Breadalbane's 
seat  and  beautiful /<?//Vy  are  too  curious  and  extraordinary  to 
be  omitted. 

The  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Eglingtoun,  near  Glasgow,  is 
worthy  of  notice.  The  pine  plantations  of  that  nobleman  are 
very  grand  and  extensive  indeed. 

I  am,  etc. 


LETTER   XLIII 

A  PAIR  of  honey-buzzards,  Buteo  opivoriis,  sive  Vespivorus 
Rati,  built  them  a  large  shallow  nest,  composed  of  twigs  and 
lined  with  dead  beechen  leaves  upon  a  tall  slender  beech  near 
the  middle  of  Selborne  Hanger,  in  the  summer  of  1780.  In 
the  middle  of  the  month  of  June  a  bold  boy  climbed  this  tree, 
though  standing  on  so  steep  and  dizzy  a  situation,  and  brought 
down  an  egg,  the  only  one  in  the  nest,  which  had  been  sat  on 
for  some  time,  and  contained  the  embryo  of  a  young  bird. 
The  egg  was  smaller,  and  not  so  round  as  those  of  the  com- 
mon buzzard  ;  was  dotted  at  each  end  with  small  red  spots, 
and  surrounded  in  the  middle  with  a  broad  bloody  zone. 

The  hen  bird  was  shot,  and  answered  exactly  to  Mr.  Ray's 
description  of  that  species ;  had  a  black  cere,  short  thick  legs, 
and  a  long  tail.  When  on  the  wing  this  species  may  be  easily 
distinguished  from  the  common  buzzard  by  its  hawk-like  ap- 
pearance, small  head,  wings  not  so  blunt,  and  longer  tail. 
This  specimen  contained  in  its  craw  some  limbs  of  frogs  and 
many  gray  snails  without  shells.  The  irides  of  the  eyes  of  this 
bird  were  of  a  beautiful  bright  yellow  color. 

About  the  lOth  July  in  the  same  summer  a  pair  of  sparrow- 
hawks  bred  in  an  old  crow's  nest  on  a  low  beech  in  the  same 
hanger ;  and  as  their  brood,  which  was  numerous,  began  to 
grow  up,  became  so  daring  and  ravenous,  that  they  were  a 
terror  to  all  the  dames  in  the  village  that  had  chickens  or 
ducklings  under  their  care.    A  boy  climbed  the  tree,  and  found 


92  WHITE 

the  young  so  fledged  that  they  all  escaped  from  him  ;  but  dis- 
covered that  a  good  house  had  been  kept :  the  larder  was  well- 
stored  with  provisions  ;  for  he  brought  down  a  young  blackbird, 
jay,  and  house-martin,  all  clean  picked,  and  some  half  devoured. 
The  old  birds  had  been  observed  to  make  sad  havoc  for  some 
days  among  the  new-flown  swallows  and  martins,  which,  being 
but  lately  out  of  their  nests,  had  not  acquired  those  powers 
and  command  of  wing  that  enable  them,  when  more  mature, 
to  set  such  enemies  at  defiance. 


LETTER   XLIV 

Selborne,  Nov.  2,0th,  1780. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Every  incident  that  occasions  a  renewal  of  our 
correspondence  will  ever  be  pleasing  and  agreeable  to  me. 

As  to  the  wild  wood-pigeon,  the  (Enas,  or  Vinago,  of  Ray, 
I  am  much  of  your  mind  ;  and  see  no  reason  for  making  it  the 
origin  of  the  common  house-dove :  but  suppose  those  that 
have  advanced  that  opinion  may  have  been  misled  by  another 
appellation,  often  given  to  the  (Enas,  which  is  that  of  stock- 
dove. 

Unless  the  stock-dove  in  the  winter  varies  greatly  in  manners 
from  itself  in  summer,  no  species  seems  more  unlikely  to  be 
domesticated,  and  to  make  a  house-dove.  We  very  rarely  see 
the  latter  settle  on  trees  at  all,  nor  does  it  ever  haunt  the 
woods ;  but  the  former  as  long  as  it  stays  with  us,  from  No- 
vember perhaps  to  February,  lives  the  same  wild  life  with  the 
ring-dove,  Palumbiis  torqiiatiis ;  frequents  coppices  and  groves, 
supports  itself  chiefly  by  mast,  and  delights  to  roost  in  the 
tallest  beeches.  Could  it  be  known  in  what  manner  stock- 
doves build,  the  doubt  would  be  settled  with  me  at  once,  pro- 
vided they  construct  their  nests  on  trees,  like  the  ring-dove,  as 
I  much  suspect  they  do. 

You  received,  you  say,  last  spring  a  stock-dove  from  Sussex  ; 
and  are  informed  that  they  sometimes  breed  in  that  county. 
But  why  did  not  your  correspondent  determine  the  place  of 
its  nidification,  whether  on  rocks,  cliffs,  or  trees .''     If  he  was 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  93 

not  an  adroit  ornithologist  I  should  doubt  the  fact,  because 
people  with  us  perpetually  confound  the  stock-dove  with  the 
ring-dove. 

For  my  own  part,  I  readily  concur  with  you  in  supposing 
that  house-doves  are  derived  from  the  small  blue  rock-pigeon, 
for  many  reasons.  In  the  first  place  the  wild  stock-dove  is 
manifestly  larger  than  the  common  house-dove,  against  the 
usual  rule  of  domestication,  which  generally  enlarges  the  breed. 
Again,  those  two  remarkable  black  spots  on  the  remiges  of 
each  wing  of  the  stock-dove,  which  are  so  characteristic  of  the 
species,  would  not,  one  should  think,  be  totally  lost  by  its  be- 
ing reclaimed ;  but  would  often  break  out  among  its  descend- 
ants. But  what  is  worth  a  hundred  arguments  is,  the  instance 
you  give  in  Sir  Roger  Mostyn's  house-doves  in  Caernarvon- 
shire ;  which,  though  tempted  by  plenty  of  food  and  gentle 
treatment,  can  never  be  prevailed  on  to  inhabit  their  cote  for 
any  time ;  but,  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  breed,  betake  them- 
selves to  the  fastnesses  of  Ormshead,  and  deposit  their  young 
in  safety  amidst  the  inaccessible  caverns  and  precipices  of  that 
stupendous  promontory. 

"  Naturam  expellas  furca  .  .  .  tamen  usque  recurret." 

I  have  consulted  a  sportsman,  now  in  his  seventy-eighth  year, 
who  tells  me  that  fifty  or  sixty  years  back,  when  the  beechen 
woods  were  much  more  extensive  than  at  present,  the  number 
of  wood-pigeons  was  astonishing  ;  that  he  has  often  killed  near 
twenty  in  a  day :  and  that  with  a  long  wild-fowl  piece  he  has 
shot  seven  or  eight  at  a  time  on  the  wing  as  they  came  wheel- 
ing over  his  head :  he  moreover  adds,  which  I  was  not  aware 
of,  that  often  there  were  among  them  little  parties  of  small 
blue  doves,  which  he  calls  rockiers.  The  food  of  these  num- 
berless emigrants  was  beech-mast  and  some  acorns ;  and  par- 
ticularly barley,  which  they  collected  in  the  stubbles.  But  of 
late  years,  since  the  vast  increase  of  turnips,  that  vegetable 
has  furnished  a  great  part  of  their  support  in  hard  weather ; 
and  the  holes  they  pick  in  these  roots  greatly  damage  the  crop. 
From  this  food  their  flesh  has  contracted  a  rancidness  which 
occasions  them  to  be  rejected  by  nicer  judges  of  eating,  who 
thought  them  before  a  delicate  dish.     They  were  shot  not  only 


94  WHITE 

as  they  were  feeding  in  the  fields,  and  especially  in  snowy 
weather,  but  also  at  the  close  of  the  evening,  by  men  who  lay 
in  ambush  among  the  woods  and  groves  to  kill  them  as  they 
came  in  to  roost.^  These  are  the  principal  circumstances  re- 
lating to  this  wonderful  internal  migration,  which  with  us  takes 
place  towards  the  end  of  November,  and  ceases  early  in  the 
spring.  Last  winter  we  had  in  Selborne  high  wood  about  a 
hundred  of  these  doves ;  but  in  former  times  the  flocks  were 
so  vast,  not  only  with  us  but  all  the  district  round,  that  on 
mornings  and  evenings  they  traversed  the  air,  like  rooks,  in 
strings,  reaching  for  a  mile  together.  When  they  thus  ren- 
dezvoused here  by  thousands,  if  they  happened  to  be  suddenly 
roused  from  their  roost-trees  on  an  evening,  — 

'•  Their  rising  all  at  once  was  like  the  sound 
Of  thunder  heard  remote." 

It  will  by  no  means  be  foreign  to  the  present  purpose  to  add, 
that  I  had  a  relation  in  this  neighborhood  who  made  it  a  prac- 
tice, for  a  time,  whenever  he  could  procure  the  eggs  of  a  ring- 
dove, to  place  them  under  a  pair  of  doves  that  were  sitting  in 
his  own  pigeon-house;  hoping  thereby,  if  he  could  bring  about 
a  coalition,  to  enlarge  his  breed,  and  teach  his  own  doves  to 
beat  out  into  the  woods,  and  to  support  themselves  by  mast ; 
the  plan  was  plausible,  but  something  always  interrupted  the 
success  ;  for  though  the  birds  were  usually  hatched,  and  some- 
times grew  to  half  their  size,  yet  none  ever  arrived  at  maturity. 
I  myself  have  seen  these  foundlings  in  their  nest  displaying  a 
strange  ferocity  of  nature,  so  as  scarcely  to  bear  to  be  looked 
at,  and  snapping  with  their  bills  by  way  of  menace.  In  short, 
they  always  died,  perhaps  for  want  of  proper  sustenance :  but 
the  owner  thought  that  by  their  fierce  and  wild  demeanor  they 
frighted  their  foster  mothers,  and  so  were  starved. 

Virgil,  as  a  familiar  occurrence,  by  way  of  simile,  describes 
a  dove  haunting  the  cavern  of  a  rock,  in  such  engaging  num- 
bers, that  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  the  passage  :  and  John 
Dryden  has  rendered  it  so  happily  in  our  language,  that  with- 
out farther  excuse  I  shall  add  his  translation  also :  — 

"  Qualis  speluncA  subito  commota  Columba, 
Cui  domus,  et  dulces  latebroso  in  pumice  nidi, 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  95 

Fertur  in  arva  volans,  plausumque  exterrita  pennis, 
Dat  tecto  ingentem  —  mox  aere  lapsa  quieto, 
Radit  iter  liquidum,  celeres  neque  commovet  alas." 

"  As  when  a  dove  her  rocky  hold  forsakes, 
Roused,  in  a  fright  her  sounding  wings  she  shakes  ; 
The  cavern  rings  with  clattering :  —  out  she  flies, 
And  leaves  her  callow  care,  and  cleaves  the  skies : 
At  first  she  flutters  :  —  but  at  length  she  springs 
To  smoother  flight,  and  shoots  upon  her  wings." 

I  am,  etc. 
Note 

^  Some  old  sportsmen  say  that  the  main  part  of  these  flocks  used  to 
withdraw  as  soon  as  the  heavy  Christmas  frosts  were  over.  —  G.  W. 


LETTERS   TO   THE   HON.    DAINES   BARRINGTON 

/ 

LETTER   I 

SELBORNE,y««^  30/^,  1769. 

Dear  Sir,  —  When  I  was  in  town  last  month  I  partly  en- 
gaged that  I  would  sometimes  do  myself  the  honor  to  write 
to  you  on  the  subject  of  natural  history ;  and  I  am  the  more 
ready  to  fulfil  my  promise,  because  I  see  you  are  a  gentle- 
man of  great  candor,  and  one  that  will  make  allowances ; 
especially  where  the  writer  professes  to  be  an  outdoor  natu- 
ralist, one  that  takes  his  observations  from  the  subject  itself, 
and  not  from  the  writings  of  others. 

The  following  is  a  List  of  the  Summer  Birds  of  Pas- 
sage WHICH  I  have  discovered  IN  THIS  NEIGHBORHOOD, 
RANGED  SOMEWHAT  IN  THE  ORDER  IN  WHICH  THEY  AP- 
PEAR : 

RAII  NOMINA  USUALLY  APPEARS  ABOUT 

,,,,.,  7-  •      -7-         •//  S  The  middle  of  March : 

1.  Wryneck,  Jy^ix,  sive  Torqmlla.      )      u      l       t 

2.  Smallest  willow-      ?  d       /  •  ^  ^         S  March  23rd :  chirps  till 

\  Re^ulus  non  crtstatus .    <      «     .      l 
wren,  )  i      September. 

3.  Swallow,  Hirnndo  dotnestica.  April  13. 

4.  Martin,  Hirttndo  rust  tea.  Ditto. 


96 


WHITE 


5.  Sand-martin, 

6.  Blackcap, 

7.  Nightingale, 

8.  Cuckoo, 

9.  Middle  willow-wren, 

10.  Whitethroat, 

11.  Redstart, 

12.  Stone-curlew, 

13.  Turtle-dove, 

14.  Grasshopper-lark,    r 

15.  Swift, 


16.  Less  reed-sparrow,  [ 


RAII    NOMINA 

Hirundo  riparia. 
Atricapilla. 
Lnsciiiia. 
Citcuhis. 

Reguliis  7wn  cristatus. 

FicedulcE  affinis. 

R  nil  cilia. 

QLdicnenms . 
Turtur. 

Alajtda  miimna  locnstce 

voce. 

Hirundo  aptis. 
Passer  arundinaceits 


17.  Landrail, 


18.  Largest  willow- 
wren. 


19.  Goat-sucker,  or 
fern-owl, 


20.  Fly-catcher, 


^      vtinor. 
Ortygouietra. 


>■  Regiihis  non  cristatus. 


Capri7imlgus. 


Stoparola. 


USUALLY  APPEARS  ABOUT 

April  13. 

Ditto :  a  sweet  wild  note. 

Beginning  of  April. 

Middle  of  April. 
5  Ditto  :  a  sweet  plaintive 
{      note. 

j  Ditto :  mean  note ;  sings 
\      on  till  September. 
S  Ditto  :  a  more  agreeable 
\      song. 

j  End   of  March  :    loud, 
i      nocturnal  whistle. 

r Middle  April:    a  small 

<  sibilous  note,  till  the 
(      end  of  July. 

About  April  27th. 
(A   sweet   polyglot,  but 
hurrying;    it  has  the 
notes  of  many  birds. 
A  loud,  harsh  note,  crex, 
crex. 

r  Cantat  voce  stridulii  lo- 
j      custcB ;  end  of  April, 
I      on  the  tops  of  high 
t     beeches. 
(  Beginning  of  May :  chat- 

<  ters  by  night  with  a 
(     singular  noise. 

'  May  i2th  :  a  very  mute 
bird  ;  this  is  the  latest 
summer  bird  of  pas- 


This  assemblage  of  curious  and  amusing  birds  belongs  to  ten 
several  genera  of  the  Linn^an  system;  and  are  all  of  the 
oj-do  of  passeres  save  the^//;ir  and  Qicuhis,  which  are  pices, 
and  the  Charadrms  {(Edicnemtis)  and  Ralhis  {Ortygometrd), 
which  are  grallcB. 

These  birds,  as  they  stand  numerically,  belong  to  the  fol- 
lowing Linnaean  genera :  — 


I)  Jynx. 

2,  6,  7,  9,  10,  II,  16,  18,      Motacilla. 
7)1  4}  5'  ^St  Hirundo. 


13.  Coluffiba. 

17.  Ralhis. 

19.   Caprirnulgus. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE 


97 


8, 


12, 


Cuculus. 
Charadrius. 


14.  Alaitda. 
20.  Muscicapa. 


Most  soft-billed  birds  live  on  insects,  and  not  on  grain  and 
seeds ;  and  therefore  at  the  end  of  summer  they  retire :  but 
the  following  soft-billed  birds,  though  insect  eaters,  stay  with 
us  the  year  round  :  — 


C  These  frequent  houses ;  and 
\      haunt  out-buildings  in  the 
{      winter:  eat  spiders. 
j  Haunt  sinks  for  crumbs  and 
\      other  sweepings. 
These     frequent     shallow 
rivulets  near  the  spring 
heads,  where  they  never 
freeze :  eat  the  aureliae  of 
Phryganea.     The  small- 
est birds  that  walk. 
Some  of  these  are  to  be 
seen  with  us  the  winter 
through. 


This  is  the  smallest  British 
bird  :  haunts  the  tops  of 
tall  trees  ;  stays  the  win- 
ter through. 


RAII   NOMINA 

Redbreast, 
Wren, 

Rttbeada. 
Passer  troglodytes 

Hedge-sparrow, 

Curruca. 

White-wagtail, 
Yellow-wagtail, 
Gray-wagtail, 

Motacilla  alba. 
Motacilla  flava. 
Motacilla  ciiierea. 

Wheat-ear, 

CEnanthe. 

Whin-chat, 
Stone-chatter, 

CEnanthe  secunda 
CEtianthe  tertia. 

Golden-crowned  wren,  Regulus  cristatus. 


A  List  of   the  Winter  Birds   of   Passage   round   this 

NEIGHBORHOOD,     RANGED      SOMEWHAT      IN      THE     ORDER      IN 
WHICH    THEY    APPEAR  : 


1 .  Ring-ousel, 

2.  Redwing, 

3.  Fieldfare, 

4.  Royston-crow, 

5.  Woodcock, 

8 


RAII  NOMINA 

Merula  torquata. 

Turdiis  iliacus. 
Tiirdiis  pilaris. 
Cor  nix  cinerea. 
Scolopax. 


r  This  is  a  new  migration, 
which  I  have  lately  dis- 
covered about  Michael- 

I       mas    week,    and     again 

I      about  the  14th  March. 
About  old  Michaelmas. 

(  Though  a  percher  by  day, 

\      roosts  on  the  ground. 
Most  frequent  on  downs. 

(  Appears  about  old  Michael- 

1       mas. 


98 


WHITE 


RAII  NOMINA 

6. 

Snipe, 

Gallinago  minor. 

7- 

Jack-snipe, 

Gallinago  minima. 

8. 

Wood-pigeon, 

CEnas. 

9- 

lO. 

Wild-swan, 

Wild-goose, 

Cygnus  ferns. 
Anser  ferns. 

II. 

12. 

Wild-duck, 
Pochard, 

Anas  torquata  tninor 
Anas  fera  fusca. 

13- 

14. 

Widgeon, 
Teal,  breeds  with 

us  in  Wolmer 

Forest, 

Penelope. 
-  Querquednla. 

IS- 

Grossbeak, 

Coccothraustes. 

16. 

Crossbill, 

Loxia. 

17- 

Silk-tail, 

Garruhis  bohemicns. 

Some     snipes     constantly 
breed  with  us. 

Seldom  appears   till   late ; 

not    in    such   plenty   as 

formerly. 
On  some  large  waters. 


'  On  our  lakes  and  streams. 


r  These  are  only  wanderers 
I       that  appear  occasionally, 
and  are  not  observant  of 
any  regular  migration. 


The  birds,  as  they  stand  numerically,  belong  to  the  follow- 
ing Linnaean  genera :  — 


I,  2,  3,  Tnrdus. 

4,  Corviis. 

5,  6,  7,  Scolopax. 
8,  Cohajiba. 


9,  10,  II,  12,  13,  14,    Anas. 
15,  16,  Loxia. 

17,  Ampelis. 


Birds  that  sing  in  the  night  are  but  few :  — 


Nightingale, 

Woodlark, 

Less  reed-sparrow,    ■] 


RAII  NOMINA 

Lnscinia, 

Alanda  arbor ea. 
Passer  arundinaceus 
minor. 


5  "  In  shadiest  covert  hid." 
(  —  Milton. 

Suspended  in  mid  air. 

[■  Among  reeds  and  willows. 


I  should  now  proceed  to  such  birds  as  continue  to  sing 
after  midsummer,  but,  as  they  are  rather  numerous,  they 
would  exceed  the  bounds  of  this  paper :  besides,  as  this  is 
now  the  season  for  remarking  on  that  subject,  I  am  willing  to 
repeat  my  observations  on  some  birds  concerning  the  con- 
tinuation of  whose  song  I  seem  at  present  to  have  some 
doubt. 

I  am,  etc. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE 


99 


LETTER   II 

Selborne,  Nov.  2nd,  1769. 

Dear  Sir,  — When  I  did  myself  the  honor  to  write  to  you 
about  the  end  of  last  June  on  the  subject  of  natural  history, 
I  sent  you  a  list  of  the  summer  birds  of  passage  which  I  have 
observed  in  this  neighborhood ;  and  also  a  list  of  the  winter 
birds  of  passage  :  I  mentioned  besides  those  soft-billed  birds 
that  stay  with  us  the  winter  through  in  the  south  of  England, 
and  those  that  are  remarkable  for  singing  in  the  night. 

According  to  my  proposal,  I  shall  now  proceed  to  such 
birds  (singing  birds  strictly  so  called)  as  continue  in  full  song 
till  after  midsummer ;  and  shall  range  them  somewhat  in  the 
order  in  which  they  first  begin  to  open  as  the  spring  advances  : 


1.  Woodlark, 

2.  Song-thrush, 

3.  Wren, 

4.  Redbreast, 

5.  Hedge-sparrow, 


RAII   NOMINA 

Alatida  arbor ea. 

Turdus     simpliciter 
diet  lis. 

Passer  troglodytes . 

Rubeada. 

Currtica. 


6.  Yellow-hammer,       Ember iza  flava. 


7.  Skylark, 

8.  Swallow, 

9.  Blackcap, 

10.  Titlark, 

11.  Blackbird, 

12.  Whitethroat, 

13.  Goldfinch, 


Alauda  vidgaris. 
Hirundo  dotnestica. 
Atricapilla. 

Alaitda  pratorum. 

Merula  vulgaris. 

Ficedidce  affinis. 
Car  due  lis. 


(In  January,  and  continues 
<  to  sing  through  all  the 
(  summer  and  autumn. 
( In  February  and  on  to 
}  August;  reassume  their 
(  song  in  autumn. 
( All  the  year,  hard  frost 
\     excepted. 

Ditto. 
5  Early  in  February  to  July 
\      loth. 

(  Early  in  February,  and  on 
■I      through  July  to  August 

(        2ISt. 

5  In   February  and    on   to 

(      October. 
From  April  to  September. 

5  Beginning     of    April     to 

\      July  13th. 

5  From  middle  of  April  to 

1      July  1 6th. 
Sometimes    in    February 
and  March,  and  so  on  to 
July    23rd ;     reassumes 
in  autumn. 

(  In  April,  and  on  to  July 

1      23rd. 

5  April,  and  through  to  Sep- 

\      tember  i6th. 


100 


WHITE 


RAII  NOMINA 

14.  Greenfinch,  Chloris.  Onto  July  and  August  2nd. 

15.  Less     reed-spar-  \  Passer  arundinaceus   (May,  on  to  beginning  of 


row, 


j      minor. 


16.  Common  linnet,       Linaria  vulgaris. 


I     July. 

r  Breeds  and  whistles  on  till 
August ;  reassumes  its 
note  when  they  begin  to 
congregate  in  October, 
and  again  early  before 
the  flocks  separate. 


Birds  that  cease  to  be  in  full  song,  and  are  usually  silent  at 
or  before  midsummer :  — 


17.  Middle     willow- 

wren, 

18.  Redstart, 

19.  Chaffinch, 
•20.  Nightingale, 


RAII  NOMINA 

\  Regulus  non  cristatus.  \  ^^^^i^  °f  J""^  '    '^^g^"^ 
S  (in  April. 

Ricticilla. 
Fringilla. 

Luscinia. 


Ditto:  begins  in  May. 
(  Beginning  of  June  ;  sings 
(      first  in  February. 
5  Middle    of   June ;     sings 
(      first  in  April. 

Birds  that  sing  for  a  short  time,  and  very  early  in  the  spring : 


21.  Missel-bird, 


RAII  NOMINA 


Tiirdiis  viscivoriis. 


22.  Great    titmouse, 
or  ox-eye, 


>  Fringillago. 


(-January  2nd,  1770,  in  Feb- 
ruary. Is  called  in 
Hampshire  and  Sussex 
the  storm-cock,  because 
its  song  is  supposed 
to  forebode  windy  wet 
weather ;  it  is  the  larg- 
est singing  bird  we  have. 
In  Februar}',  March,  and 
April ;  reassumes  for  a 
short  time  in  September. 


Birds  that  have  somewhat  of  a  note  or  song,  and  yet  are 
hardly  to  be  called  singing  birds  :  — 


RAII   NOMINA 


23.  Golden-crowned    7  n  ^  /         ■  .   . 
•^  Y  Regulus  cristatus. 

wren,  > 


24.  Marsh-titmouse,       Parus  palustris. 


Its  note  as  minute  as  its 
person ;  frequents  the 
tops  of  high  oaks  and 
firs ;  the  smallest  British 
bird. 
(  Haunts  great  woods  :  two 
(      harsh  sharp  notes. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE 


lOI 


RAII  NOMINA 


e      1,     -11  D      /  ■  J  J       S  Sinojs  in  March,  and  on 

25.  Small  willow-wren,  Regtiltis  non  crtstatns.  -j        '^  ' 


26.  Largest  ditto, 


Ditto. 


„       ,  ,    ,    >  Alauda  minitna  voce 

27.  Grasshopper-lark,  I     ^^^^^^^^ 


28.  Martin, 

29.  Bullfinch, 

30.  Bunting, 


Hirundo  agrestis. 
Pyrrhula. 
Ember iza  alba. 


to  September. 
(  Cant  at   voce  striduld   lo- 
\      custcE ;     from     end     of 
(      April  to  August. 
(  Chirps  all  night,  from  the 
-|      middle  of  April  to  the 
(      end  of  July. 
j  All    the    breeding    time ; 
1     from  May  to  September. 


5  From  the  end  of  January 
I      to  July. 


All  singing  birds,  and  those  that  have  any  pretensions  to 
song,  not  only  in  Britain,  but  perhaps  the  world  through, 
come  under  the  Linnaean  ordo  of  Passeres. 

The  above-mentioned  birds,  as  they  stand  numerically, 
belong  to  the  following  Linnaean  genera :  — 


1,  7,  10,  27,  Alauda. 

2,  II,  21,  Turdus. 

3,4,5,9,  12,  15,  17,  [^^^^,,7/^. 
18,  20,  23,  25,  26,     s 

6, 30,  Emberiza. 


8,  28,  Hiruttdo. 

13,  16,  19,     Fringilla. 
22,  24,  Partis. 

14,  29,  Loxia. 


Birds  that  sing  as  they  fly  are  but  few :  — 


RAII  NOMINA 

Skylark, 

Alauda  vulgaris. 

Titlark, 

Alauda  pratorutn. 

Woodlark, 

Alauda  arbor ea. 

Blackbird, 

Merula. 

Whitethroat, 

Ficedula  affinis. 

Swallow, 

Hirundo  domestica. 

Wren, 

Passer  troglodytes. 

( Rising,    suspended,    and 

\      falling. 

( In  its  descent ;  also  sitting 

-;      on  trees,  and  walking  on 

(     the  ground. 

I  Suspended  ;    in   hot  sum- 

-l      mer    nights    all    night 

(      long. 

5  Sometimes  from  bush  to 

\     bush. 

(  Uses  when  singing  on  the 

X     wing  odd  jerks  and  ges- 

(      ticulations. 

In  soft  sunny  weather. 
(  Sometimes  from  bush  to 
1      bush. 


102 

WHITE 

Birds  that  breed  most  early  in  the; 

RAII   NOMINA 

Raven, 

CorvKs. 

Song-thrush, 
Blackbird, 

Turdus. 

Merula. 

Rook, 

Comix  friigilega. 

Woodlark, 

Alaitda  arbor ea. 

Ring-dove, 

Pahimbits  torquatus 

(  Hatches  in  February  and 
\      March. 

In  March. 

In  March. 
<  Builds   the    beginning  of 
\      March. 

Hatches  in  April. 
^  Lays    the    beginning    of 
\      April. 

All  birds  that  continue  in  full  song  till  after  midsummer 
appear  to  me  to  breed  more  than  once. 

Most  kinds  of  birds  seem  to  me  to  be  wild  and  shy  some- 
what in  proportion  to  their  bulk  ;  I  mean  in  this  island,  where 
they  are  much  pursued  and  annoyed  ;  but  in  Ascension  Island, 
and  many  other  desolate  places,  mariners  have  found  fowls  so 
unacquainted  with  a  human  figure,  that  they  would  stand  still 
to  be  taken ;  as  is  the  case  with  boobies,  etc.  As  an  example 
of  what  is  advanced,  I  remark  that  the  golden-crested  wren 
(the  smallest  British  bird)  will  stand  unconcerned  till  you 
come  within  three  or  four  yards  of  it,  while  the  bustard  {Otis\ 
the  largest  British  land  fowl,  does  not  care  to  admit  a  person 
within  so  many  furlongs.^ 

I  am,  etc. 
Note 

^  The  bustard,  once  common  in  several  parts  of  the  country,  is  now  almost 
extinct.  Its  last  abiding  place  was  the  fenny  part  of  Norfolk,  but  the  gun 
and  snare,  indiscriminately  used,  have  banished  it.  One  way  of  destroying 
it  was  by  baiting  a  spot  within  range  of  a  battery  of  shotguns,  so  laid  that 
a  person  at  a  distance  could,  by  means  of  a  long  string,  discharge  them  when 
the  bustards  came  sufficiently  near.  Two  or  three  years  ago  a  male  bustard 
was  seen  on  the  fens,  and  every  effort  was  made  by  the  landowners  to  keep 
it  safe.  They  even  turned  out  two  female  birds  in  the  hope  that  it  would 
pair  with  one  and  breed  ;  but  after  staying  about  for  a  few  days  it  flew  away, 
and  was  not  again  seen.  —  G.  C.  D. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  IO3 

LETTER   III 

SELB0RNE,y<2«.  I5M,  I770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  It  was  no  small  matter  of  satisfaction  to  me 
to  find  that  you  were  not  displeased  with  my  little  viethodus 
of  birds.  If  there  was  any  merit  in  the  sketch,  it  must  be 
owing  to  its  punctuality.  For  many  months  I  carried  a  list 
in  my  pocket  of  the  birds  that  were  to  be  remarked,  and,  as  I 
rode  or  walked  about  my  business,  I  noted  each  day  the  con- 
tinuance or  omission  of  each  bird's  song ;  so  that  I  am  as  sure 
of  the  certainty  of  my  facts  as  a  man  can  be  of  any  transac- 
tion whatsoever. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  answer  the  several  queries  which 
you  put  in  your  two  obliging  letters,  in  the  best  manner  that 
I  am  able.  Perhaps  Eastwick,  and  its  environs,  where  you 
heard  so  very  few  birds,  is  not  a  woodland  country,  and  there- 
fore not  stocked  with  such  songsters.  If  you  will  cast  your 
eye  on  my  last  letter,  you  will  find  that  many  species  continued 
to  warble  after  the  beginning  of  July. 

The  titlark  and  yellow-hammer  breed  late,  the  latter  very 
late ;  and  therefore  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  protract  their 
song :  for  I  lay  it  down  as  a  maxim  in  ornithology,  that  as 
long  as  there  is  any  incubation  going  on  there  is  music.  As 
to  the  redbreast  and  wren,  it  is  well  known  to  the  most  incuri- 
ous observer  that  they  whistle  the  year  round,  hard  frost 
excepted  ;  especially  the  latter. 

It  was  not  in  my  power  to  procure  you  a  blackcap,  or  a  less 
reed-sparrow,  or  sedge-bird,  alive.  As  the  first  is  undoubtedly, 
and  the  last,  as  far  as  I  can  yet  see,  a  summer  bird  of  pas- 
sage, they  would  require  more  nice  and  curious  management 
in  a  cage  than  I  should  be  able  to  give  them :  they  are  both 
distinguished  songsters.  The  note  of  the  former  has  such  a 
wild  sweetness  that  it  always  brings  to  my  mind  those  lines 
in  a  song  in  "  As  You  Like  It :  "  — 

"And  tune  his  merry  note 
Unto  the  wild  bird's  throat."  —  Shakespeare. 

The  latter  has  a  surprising  variety  of  notes  resembling  the 
song  of  several  other  birds ;  but  then  it  has  also  a  hurrying 


104  WHITE 

manner,  not  at  all  to  its  advantage :  it  is  notwithstanding  a 
delicate  polyglot. 

It  is  new  to  me  that  titlarks  in  cages  sing  in  the  night ;  per- 
haps only  caged  birds  do  so.  I  once  knew  a  tame  redbreast 
in  a  cage  that  always  sang  as  long  as  candles  were  in  the 
room ;  but  in  their  wild  state  no  one  supposes  they  sing  in  the 
night. 

I  should  be  almost  ready  to  doubt  the  fact,  that  there  are  to 
be  seen  much  fewer  birds  in  July  than  in  any  former  month, 
notwithstanding  so  many  young  are  hatched  daily.  Sure  I 
am  that  it  is  far  otherwise  with  respect  to  the  swallow  tribe, 
which  increases  prodigiously  as  the  summer  advances  :  and  I 
saw  at  the  time  mentioned,  many  hundreds  of  young  wagtails 
on  the  banks  of  the  Cherwell,  which  almost  covered  the 
meadows.  If  the  matter  appears  as  you  say  in  the  other 
species,  may  it  not  be  owing  to  the  dams  being  engaged  in 
incubation,  while  the  young  are  concealed  by  the  leaves  ? 

Many  times  have  I  had  the  curiosity  to  open  the  stomachs 

of   woodcocks  and  snipes ;    but  nothing  ever  occurred  that 

helped  to  explain  to  me  what  their  subsistence  might  be :  all 

that  I  could  ever  find  was  a  soft  mucus,  among  which  lay 

many  pellucid  small  gravels.^ 

I  am,  etc. 
Note 

1  Upon  examining  patches  of  mud  on  which  I  have  flushed  woodcocks 
and  snipes,  I  have  found  them  riddled  with  small  perforations,  clearly  made 
by  the  bills  of  the  birds,  which  must  have  been  seeking  some  insects  or 
worms  therein.  —  G.  CD. 


LETTER   IV 

Selborne,  Fed.  igi/i,  1770. 
Dear  Sir,  —  Your  observation  that  "  the  cuckoo  does  not 
deposit  its  egg  indiscriminately  in  the  nest  of  the  first  bird 
that  comes  in  its  way,  but  probably  looks  out  a  nurse  in  some 
degree  congenerous,  with  whom  to  entrust  its  young,"  is  per- 
fectly new  to  me ;  and  struck  me  so  forcibly,  that  I  naturally 
fell  into  a  train  of  thought  that  led  me  to  consider  whether 
the  fact  was  so,  and  what  reason  there  was  for  it.     When  I 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  105 

came  to  recollect  and  inquire,  I  could  not  find  that  any  cuckoo 
had  ever  been  seen  in  these  parts,  except  in  the  nest  of  the 
wagtail,  the  hedge-sparrow,  the  titlark,  the  whitethroat,  and 
the  redbreast,  all  soft-billed  insectivorous  birds.  The  excel- 
lent Mr.  Willughby  mentions  the  nest  of  the  Pahimbus  (ring- 
dove), and  of  the  fringilla  (chaffinch),  birds  that  subsist  on 
acorns  and  grains,  and  such  hard  food :  but  then  he  does  not 
mention  them  as  of  his  own  knowledge ;  but  says  afterwards 
that  he  saw  himself  a  wagtail  feeding  a  cuckoo.  It  appears 
hardly  possible  that  a  soft-billed  bird  should  subsist  on  the 
same  food  with  the  hard-billed :  for  the  former  have  thin 
membranaceous  stomachs  suited  to  their  soft  food ;  while  the 
latter,  the  granivorous  tribe,  have  strong  muscular  gizzards, 
which,  like  mills,  grind,  by  the  help  of  small  gravels  and  peb- 
bles, what  is  swallowed.  This  proceeding  of  the  cuckoo,  of 
dropping  its  eggs  as  it  were  by  chance,  is  such  a  monstrous 
outrage  on  maternal  affection,  one  of  the  first  great  dictates 
of  nature ;  and  such  a  violence  on  instinct ;  that,  had  it  only 
been  related  of  a  bird  in  the  Brazils,  or  Peru,  it  would  never 
have  merited  our  belief.  But  yet,  should  it  farther  appear 
that  this  simple  bird,  when  divested  of  that  natural  arop^ri 
that  seems  to  raise  the  kind  in  general  above  themselves,  and 
inspire  them  with  extraordinary  degrees  of  cunning  and  ad- 
dress, may  be  still  endued  with  a  more  enlarged  faculty  of 
discerning  what  species  are  suitable  and  congenerous  nursing- 
mothers  for  its  disregarded  eggs  and  young,  and  may  deposit 
them  only  under  their  care,  this  would  be  adding  wonder  to 
wonder,  and  instancing,  in  a  fresh  manner,  that  the  methods 
of  Providence  are  not  subjected  to  any  mode  or  rule,  but 
astonish  us  in  new  lights,  and  in  various  and  changeable 
appearances. 

What  was  said  by  a  very  ancient  and  sublime  writer  concern- 
ing the  defect  of  natural  affection  in  the  ostrich,  may  be  well 
applied  to  the  bird  we  are  talking  of :  — 

"  She  is  hardened  against  her  young  ones,  as  though  they 
were  not  hers : 

"  Because  God  hath  deprived  her  of  wisdom,  neither  hath 
He  imparted  to  her  understanding."  ^ 

Query.  —  Does  each  female  cuckoo  lay  but  one  Qgg  in  a 


I06  WHITE 

season,  or  does  she  drop  several  in  different  nests  according 

as  opportunity  offers  ?  ^ 

I  am,  etc. 
Notes  ' 

1  Job  xxxix.  i6,  17.  —  G.  W. 

-  I  have  found  so  many  cuckoos'  eggs  in  a  district  where  there  were  but 
a  limited  number  of  cuckoos,  that  I  am  satisfied  it  lays  several  eggs.  The 
egg  of  the  cuckoo  is  small  for  the  size  of  the  bird,  yet  it  often  looks  a  monster 
in  some  of  the  nests  in  which  it  is  deposited,  such  as  sedge-warblers  and 
reed- wrens.  Three  times  at  least  it  has  been  found  in  a  grasshopper- war- 
bler's, where  the  foot  or  the  beak  must  have  been  the  agent  in  transferring 
the  egg  after  being  laid  into  the  nest.  One  July  at  Wroxham  Broad  in 
Norfolk,  there  were  thirty  or  forty  cuckoos  flying  restlessly  about  from  tree 
to  tree,  and  uttering  frequently  a  treble  cry ;  thus :  cuck-cuckoo  —  cuck- 
cuckoo.     A  week  later  they  were  all  gone.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER  V 

Selborne,  April  12th,  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  heard  many  birds  of  several  species  sing 
last  year  after  midsummer;  enough  to  prove  that  the  summer 
solstice  is  not  the  period  that  puts  a  stop  to  the  music  of  the 
woods.  The  yellow-hammer  no  doubt  persists  with  more 
steadiness  than  any  other ;  but  the  woodlark,  the  wren,  the 
redbreast,  the  swallow,  the  whitethroat,  the  goldfinch,  the 
common  linnet,  are  all  undoubted  instances  of  the  truth  of 
what  I  advanced. 

If  this  severe  season  does  not  interrupt  the  regularity  of  the 
summer  migrations,  the  blackcap  will  be  here  in  two  or  three 
days.  I  wish  it  was  in  my  power  to  procure  you  one  of  those 
songsters  ;  but  I  am  no  birdcatcher;  and  so  little  used  to  birds 
in  a  cage,  that  I  fear  if  I  had  one  it  would  soon  die  for  want 
of  skill  in  feeding. 

Was  your  reed-sparrow,  which  you  kept  in  a  cage,  the  thick- 
billed  reed-sparrow  of  the  "  Zoology,"  p.  320 ;  or  was  it  the 
less  reed-sparrow  of  Ray,  the  sedge-bird  of  Mr.  Pennant's  last 
publication,  p.  16  ? 

As  to  the  matter  of  long-billed  birds  growing  fatter  in  mod- 
erate frosts,  I  have  no  doubt  within  myself  what  should  be  the 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  107 

reason.  The  thriving  at  those  times  appears  to  me  to  arise 
altogether  from  the  gentle  check  which  the  cold  throws  upon 
insensible  perspiration.  The  case  is  just  the  same  with  black- 
birds, etc. ;  and  farmers  and  warreners  observe,  the  first, 
that  their  hogs  fat  more  kindly  at  such  times,  and  the  latter 
that  their  rabbits  are  never  in  such  good  case  as  in  a  gentle 
frost.  But  when  frosts  are  severe,  and  of  long  continuance, 
the  case  is  soon  altered ;  for  then  a  want  of  food  soon  over- 
balances the  repletion  occasioned  by  a  checked  perspiration. 
I  have  observed,  moreover,  that  some  human  constitutions  are 
more  inclined  to  plumpness  in  winter  than  in  summer. 

When  birds  come  to  suffer  by  severe  frost,  I  find  that  the 
first  that  fail  and  die  are  the  redwing-fieldfares,  and  then  the 
song-thrushes. 

You  wonder,  with  good  reason,  that  the  hedge-sparrows,  etc., 
can  be  induced  at  all  to  sit  on  the  egg  of  the  cuckoo  without 
being  scandalized  at  the  vast  disproportionate  size  of  the  sup- 
posititious egg ;  but  the  brute  creation,  I  suppose,  have  very 
little  idea  of  size,  color,  or  number.  For  the  common  hen,  I 
know,  when  the  fury  of  incubation  is  on  her,  will  sit  on  a  single 
shapeless  stone  instead  of  a  nest  full  of  eggs  that  have  been 
withdrawn  :  and,  moreover,  a  hen  turkey,  in  the  same  circum- 
stances, would  sit  on  in  the  empty  nest  till  she  perished  with 
hunger. 

I  think  the  matter  might  easily  be  determined  whether  a 
cuckoo  lays  one  or  two  eggs,  or  more,  in  a  season,  by  opening 
a  female  during  the  laying  time.  If  more  than  one  was  come 
down  out  of  the  ovary  and  advanced  to  a  good  size,  doubtless 
then  she  would  that  spring  lay  more  than  one. 

I  will  endeavor  to  get  a  hen,  and  to  examine. 

Your  supposition  that  there  may  be  some  natural  obstruc- 
tion in  singing  birds  while  they  are  mute,  and  that  when  this 
is  removed  the  song  recommences,  is  new  and  bold :  I  wish 
you  could  discover  some  good  grounds  for  this  suspicion. 

I  was  glad  you  were  pleased  with  my  specimen  of  the  capri- 
mulgus,  or  fern-owl ;  you  were,  I  find,  acquainted  with  the  bird 
before. 

When  we  meet  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  some  conversation 
with  you  concerning  the  proposal  you  make  of  my  drawing 


I08  WHITE 

up  an  account  of  the  animals  in  this  neighborhood.  Your 
partiahty  towards  my  small  abilities  persuades  you,  I  fear,  that 
I  am  able  to  do  more  than  is  in  my  power :  for  it  is  no  small 
undertaking  for  a  man  unsupported  and  alone  to  begin  a  natu- 
ral history  from  his  own  autopsia !  Though  there  is  endless 
room  for  observation  in  the  field  of  nature,  which  is  bound- 
less, yet  investigation  (where  a  man  endeavors  to  be  sure  of 
his  facts)  can  make  but  slow  progress;  and  all  that  one 
could  collect  in  many  years  would  go  into  a  very  narrow 
compass. 

Some  extracts  from  your  ingenious  "  Investigations  of  the 
Difference  between  the  Present  Temperature  of  the  Air  in 
Italy,"  etc.,  have  fallen  in  my  way,  and  gave  me  great  satis- 
faction :  they  have  removed  the  objections  that  always  arose 
in  my  mind  whenever  I  came  to  the  passages  which  you  quote. 
Surely  the  judicious  Virgil,  when  writing  a  didactic  poem  for 
the  region  of  Italy,  could  never  think  of  describing  freezing 
rivers,  unless  such  severity  of  weather  pretty  frequently  oc- 
curred ! 

P.S.  —  Swallows  appear  amidst  snows  and  frost. 


LETTER  VI 

Selborne,  May  21st,  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  The  severity  and  turbulence  of  last  month  so 
interrupted  the  regular  process  of  summer  migration,  that  some 
of  the  birds  do  but  just  begin  to  show  themselves,  and  others 
are  apparently  thinner  than  usual ;  as  the  whitethroat,  the 
blackcap,  the  redstart,  the  fly-catcher.  I  well  remember  that 
after  the  very  severe  spring  in  the  year  1739-40,  summer  birds 
of  passage  were  very  scarce.  They  come  probably  hither  with 
a  south-east  wind,  or  when  it  blows  between  those  points; 
but  in  that  unfavorable  year  the  winds  blew  the  whole  spring 
and  summer  through  from  the  opposite  quarters.  And  yet 
amidst  all  these  disadvantages  two  swallows,  as  I  mentioned 
in  my  last,  appeared  this  year  as  early  as  the  i  ith  April  amidst 
frost  and  snow ;  but  they  withdrew  again  for  a  time. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  IO9 

I  am  not  pleased  to  find  that  some  people  seem  so  little  satis- 
fied with  Scopoli's  new  publication ;  there  is  room  to  expect 
great  things  from  the  hands  of  that  man,  who  is  a  good  natu- 
ralist :  and  one  would  think  that  a  history  of  the  birds  of  so 
distant  and  southern  a  region  as  Carniola  would  be  new  and 
interesting.  I  could  wish  to  see  that  work,  and  hope  to  get 
it  sent  down.  Dr.  Scopoli  is  physician  to  the  wretches  that 
work  in  the  quicksilver  mines  of  that  district. 

When  you  talked  of  keeping  a  reed-sparrow,  and  giving  it 
seeds,  I  could  not  help  wondering ;  because  the  reed-sparrow 
which  I  mentioned  to  you  {Passer  arnndinace7is  minor  Rail) 
is  a  soft-billed  bird;  and  most  probably  migrates  hence  before 
winter ;  whereas  the  bird  you  kept  {Passer  torquatus  Raii) 
abides  all  the  year,  and  is  a  thick-billed  bird.  I  question 
whether  the  latter  be  much  of  a  songster ;  but  in  this  matter 
I  want  to  be  better  informed.  The  former  has  a  variety  of 
hurrying  notes,  and  sings  all  night.  Some  part  of  the  song 
of  the  former,  I  suspect,  is  attributed  to  the  latter.  We  have 
plenty  of  the  soft-billed  sort;  which  Mr.  Pennant  had  entirely 
left  out  of  his  "  British  Zoology,"  till  I  reminded  him  of  his 
omission.     See  "  British  Zoology"  last  published,  p.  16. 

I  have  somewhat  to  advance  on  the  different  manners  in 
which  different  birds  fly  and  walk;  but  as  this  is  a  subject  that 
I  have  not  enough  considered,  and  is  of  such  a  nature  as  not 
to  be  contained  in  a  small  space,  I  shall  say  nothing  further 
about  it  at  present. 

No  doubt  the  reason  why  the  sex  of  birds  in  their  first  plu- 
mage is  so  difficult  to  be  distinguished  is,  as  you  say,  "  because 
they  are  not  to  pair  and  discharge  their  parental  functions  till 
the  ensuing  spring."  As  colors  seem  to  be  the  chief  external 
sexual  distinction  in  many  birds,  these  colors  do  not  take  place 
till  sexual  attachments  begin  to  obtain.  And  the  case  is  the 
same  in  quadrupeds ;  among  whom,  in  their  younger  days,  the 
sexes  differ  but  little  :  but,  as  they  advance  to  maturity,  horns 
and  shaggy  manes,  beards  and  brawny  necks,  etc.,  etc.,  strongly 
discriminate  the  male  from  the  female.  We  may  instance  still 
farther  in  our  own  species,  where  a  beard  and  stronger  features 
are  usually  characteristic  of  the  male  sex:  but  this  sexual  diver- 
sity does  not  take  place  in  earlier  life ;  for  a  beautiful  youth 


no  WHITE 

shall  be  so  like  a  beautiful  girl  that  the  difference  shall  not  be 

discernible :  — 

"  Quern  si  puellarum  insereres  choro, 
Mire  sagaces  falleret  hospites 
Discrinien  obscurum,  solutis 
Crinibus,  ambiguoque  vultu." 

—  HoR.  Odes,  II.  od.  5-21,  p.  131,  orig.  edit. 


LETTER  VII 

RiNGMER,  near  Lewes,  Oct.  Zth,  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  Kuckalm  is  to  furnish 
you  with  the  birds  of  Jamaica ;  a  sight  of  the  Jiirimdmes  of  that 
hot  and  distant  island  would  be  a  great  entertainment  to  me. 

The  "Anni"  of  Scopoli  are  now  in  my  possession;  and  I 
have  read  the  "Annus  Primus"  with  satisfaction;  for  though 
some  parts  of  this  work  are  exceptionable,  and  he  may  advance 
some  mistaken  observations,  yet  the  ornithology  of  so  distant 
a  country  as  Carniola  is  very  curious.  Men  that  undertake 
only  one  district  are  much  more  likely  to  advance  natural 
knowledge  than  those  that  grasp  at  more  than  they  can 
possibly  be  acquainted  with  :  every  kingdom,  every  province, 
should  have  its  own  monographer. 

The  reason  perhaps  why  he  mentions  nothing  of  Ray's  "  Or- 
nithology "  may  be  the  extreme  poverty  and  distance  of  his 
country,  into  which  the  works  of  our  great  naturalist  may  have 
never  yet  found  their  way.  You  have  doubts,  I  know,  whether 
this  "Ornithology"  is  genuine,  and  really  the  work  of  Scopoli; 
as  to  myself,  I  think  I  discover  strong  tokens  of  authenticity ; 
the  style  corresponds  with  that  of  his  "Entomology"  ;  and  his 
characters  of  his  Ordines  and  Genera  are  many  of  them  new, 
expressive,  and  masterly.  He  has  ventured  to  alter  some  of 
the  Linnaean  genera  with  sufficient  show  of  reason. 

It  might  perhaps  be  mere  accident  that  you  saw  so  many 
swifts  and  no  swallows  at  Staines  ;  because,  in  my  long  obser- 
vation of  those  birds,  I  never  could  discover  the  least  degree 
of  rivalry  or  hostility  between  the  species. 

Ray  remarks  that  birds  of  the  gallince  order,  as  cocks  and 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  III 

hens,  partridges  and  pheasants,  etc.,  zxe  pulveratrices,  such  as 
dust  themselves,  using  that  method  of  cleansing  their  feathers, 
and  ridding  themselves  of  their  vermin.  As  far  as  I  can  ob- 
serve, many  birds  that  dust  themselves  never  wash;  and  I  once 
thought  that  those  birds  that  wash  themselves  would  never 
dust ;  but  here  I  find  myself  mistaken ;  for  common  house- 
sparrows  are  great  pulveratrices,  being  frequently  seen  grovel- 
ling and  wallowing  in  dusty  roads ;  and  yet  they  are  great 
washers.     Does  not  the  skylark  dust } 

Query.  —  Might  not  Mahomet  and  his  followers  take  one 
method  of  purification  from  these  pulveratrices.-'  because  I  find 
from  travellers  of  credit,  that  if  a  strict  Mussulman  is  journey- 
ing in  a  sandy  desert  where  no  water  is  to  be  found,  at  stated 
hours  he  strips  off  his  clothes,  and  most  scrupulously  rubs  his 
body  over  with  sand  or  dust. 

A  countryman  told  me  he  had  found  a  young  fern-owl  in  the 
nest  of  a  small  bird  on  the  ground  ;  and  that  it  was  fed  by  the 
little  bird.  I  went  to  see  this  extraordinary  phenomenon,  and 
found  that  it  was  a  young  cuckoo  hatched  in  the  nest  of  a  tit- 
lark ;  it  was  become  vastly  too  big  for  its  nest,  appearing 

"  in  tenui  re 

Majores  pennas  nido  extendisse  "     .     . 

and  was  very  fierce  and  pugnacious,  pursuing  my  finger,  as  I 
teased  it,  for  many  feet  from  the  nest,  and  sparring  and  buffet- 
ing with  its  wings  like  a  game-cock.  The  dupe  of  a  dam  ap- 
peared at  a  distance,  hovering  about  with  meat  in  its  mouth, 
and  expressing  the  greatest  solicitude. 

In  July  I  saw  several  cuckoos  skimming  over  a  large  pond ; 
and  found,  after  some  observation,  that  they  were  feeding  on 
\.\i&  Libelltilce,  or  dragon-flies;  some  of  which  they  caught  as 
they  settled  on  the  weeds,  and  some  as  they  were  on  the  wing. 
Notwithstanding  what  Linnaeus  says,  I  cannot  be  induced  to 
believe  that  they  are  birds  of  prey. 

This  district  affords  some  birds  that  are  hardly  ever  heard 
of  at  Selborne.  In  the  first  place  considerable  flocks  of  cross- 
beaks  (yLoxicz  airvirostrcB)  have  appeared  this  summer  in  the 
pine-groves  belonging  to  this  house ;  the  water-ousel  is  said  to 
haunt  the  mouth  of  the  Lewes  River,  near  Newhaven ;  and  the 


112  WHITE 

Cornish  chough  builds,  I  know,  all  along  the  chalky  cliffs  of 
the  Sussex  shore. 

I  was  greatly  pleased  to  see  little  parties  of  ring-ousels  (my 
newly  discovered  migrators)  scattered,  at  intervals,  all  along 
the  Sussex  Downs,  from  Chichester  to  Lewes.  Let  them  come 
from  whence  they  will,  it  looks  very  suspicious  that  they  are 
cantoned  along  the  coast  in  order  to  pass  the  Channel  when 
severe  weather  advances.  They  visit  us  again  in  April,  as  it 
should  seem,  in  their  return ;  and  are  not  to  be  found  in  the 
dead  of  winter.  It  is  remarkable  that  they  are  very  tame,  and 
seem  to  have  no  manner  of  apprehensions  of  danger  from  a 
person  with  a  gun.  There  are  bustards  on  the  wide  downs 
near  Brighthelmstone.  No  doubt  you  are  acquainted  with  the 
Sussex  Downs ;  the  prospects  and  rides  round  Lewes  are  most 
lovely ! 

As  I  rode  along  near  the  coast  I  kept  a  very  sharp  look- 
out in  the  lanes  and  woods,  hoping  I  might,  at  this  time  of 
the  year,  have  discovered  some  of  the  summer  short-winged 
birds  of  passage  crowding  towards  the  coast  in  order  for  their 
departure :  but  it  was  very  extraordinary  that  I  never  saw  a  red- 
start, whitethroat,  blackcap,  uncrested  wren,  fly-catcher,  etc. 
And  I  remember  to  have  made  the  same  remark  in  former 
years,  as  I  usually  come  to  this  place  annually  about  this  time. 
The  birds  most  common  along  the  coast,  at  present,  are  the 
stone-chatters,  whin-chats,  buntings,  linnets,  some  few  wheat- 
ears,  titlarks,  etc.  Swallows  and  house-martins  abound  yet,  in- 
duced to  prolong  their  stay  by  this  soft,  still,  dry  season. 

A  land  tortoise,  which  has  been  kept  for  thirty  years  in  a 
little  walled  court  belonging  to  the  house  where  I  now  am 
visiting,  retires  under  ground  about  the  middle  of  November, 
and  comes  forth  again  about  the  middle  of  April.  When  it 
first  appears  in  the  spring  it  discovers  very  little  inclination 
towards  food  ;  but  in  the  height  of  summer  grows  voracious ; 
and  then  as  the  summer  declines  its  appetite  declines;  so 
that  for  the  last  six  weeks  in  autumn  it  hardly  eats  at  all. 
Milky  plants,  such  as  lettuces,  dandelions,  sowthistles,  are  its 
favorite  dish.  In  a  neighboring  village  one  was  kept  till 
by  tradition  it  was  supposed  to  be  a  hundred  years  old.  An 
instance  of  vast  longevity  in  such  a  poor  reptile  ! 


NATURAL  HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  I13 


LETTER  VIII 

Selborne,  Dec.  20th,  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  The  birds  that  I  took  for  aberdavines  were 
reed-sparrows  {Passeres  torqiiati). 

There  are  doubtless  many  home  internal  migrations  within 
this  kingdom  that  want  to  be  better  understood  :  witness  those 
vast  flocks  of  hen  chaffinches  that  appear  with  us  in  the 
winter  with  hardly  any  cocks  among  them.  Now  was  there 
a  due  proportion  of  each  sex,  it  should  seem  very  improbable 
that  any  one  district  should  produce  such  numbers  of  these 
little  birds ;  and  much  more  when  only  one-half  of  the  spe- 
cies appears  ;  therefore  we  may  conclude  that  the  FringillcB 
ccelebes,  for  some  good  purposes,  have  a  peculiar  migration  of 
their  own  in  which  the  sexes  part.  Nor  should  it  seem  so 
wonderful  that  the  intercourse  of  sexes  in  this  species  of  bird 
should  be  interrupted  in  winter ;  since  in  many  animals,  and 
particularly  in  bucks  and  does,  the  sexes  herd  separately,  ex- 
cept at  the  season  when  commerce  is  necessary  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  breed.  For  this  matter  of  the  chaffinches  see 
"  Fauna  Suecica,"  p.  58,  and  "  Systema  Naturae,"  p.  3 18.  I  see 
every  winter  vast  flights  of  hen  chaffinches,  but  none  of  cocks. 

Your  method  of  accounting  for  the  periodical  motions  of 
the  British  singing  birds,  or  birds  of  flight,  is  a  very  probable 
one  ;  since  the  matter  of  food  is  a  great  regulator  of  the 
actions  and  proceedings  of  the  brute  creation ;  there  is  but 
one  that  can  be  set  in  competition  with  it,  and  that  is  love. 
But  I  cannot  quite  acquiesce  with  you  in  one  circumstance, 
when  you  advance  that,  "  when  they  have  thus  feasted,  they 
again  separate  into  small  parties  of  five  or  six,  and  get  the 
best  fare  they  can  within  a  certain  district,  having  no  induce- 
ment to  go  in  quest  of  fresh-turned  earth."  Now  if  you 
mean  that  the  business  of  congregating  is  quite  at  an  end 
from  the  conclusion  of  wheat  sowing  to  the  season  of  barley 
and  oats,  it  is  not  the  case  with  us ;  for  larks  and  chaffinches, 
and  particularly  linnets,  flock  and  congregate  as  much  in  the 
very  dead  of  winter  as  when  the  husbandman  is  busy  with 
his  ploughs  and  harrows. 
9 


114  WHITE 

Sure  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  woodcocks  and  field- 
fares leave  us  in  the  spring,  in  order  to  cross  the  seas,  and  to 
retire  to  some  districts  more  suitable  to  the  purpose  of  breed- 
ing. That  the  former  pair  before  they  retire,  and  that  the 
hens  are  forward  with  egg,  I  myself,  when  I  was  a  sports- 
man, have  often  experienced.  It  cannot  indeed  be  denied 
but  that  now  and  then  we  hear  of  a  woodcock's  nest,  or  young 
birds,  discovered  in  some  part  or  other  of  this  island  ;  but 
then  they  are  all  always  mentioned  as  rarities,  and  somewhat 
out  of  the  common  course  of  things  :  but  as  to  redwings  and 
fieldfares,  no  sportsman  or  naturalist  has  ever  yet,  that  I 
could  hear,  pretended  to  have  found  the  nest  or  young  of 
those  species  in  any  part  of  these  kingdoms.  And  I  the 
more  admire  at  this  instance  as  extraordinary,  since,  to  all 
appearance,  the  same  food  in  summer  as  well  as  in  winter 
might  support  them  here  which  maintains  their  congeners, 
the  blackbirds  and  thrushes,  did  they  choose  to  stay  the 
summer  through.  From  hence  it  appears  that  it  is  not  food 
alone  which  determines  some  species  of  birds  with  regard  to 
their  stay  or  departure.  Fieldfares  or  redwings  disappear 
sooner  or  later  according  as  the  warm  weather  comes  on 
earlier  or  later.  For  I  well  remember,  after  that  dreadful 
winter  1739-40,  that  cold  north-east  winds  continued  to  blow 
on  through  April  and  May,  and  that  these  kind  of  birds 
(what  few  remained  of  them)  did  not  depart  as  usual,  but 
were  seen  lingering  about  till  the  beginning  of  June. 

The  best  authority  that  we  can  have  for  the  nidification  of 
the  birds  above-mentioned  in  any  district,  is  the  testimony 
of  faunists  that  have  written  professedly  the  natural  history 
of  particular  countries.  Now  as  to  the  fieldfare,  Linnaeus,  in 
his  "  Fauna  Suecica,"  says  of  it,  that  "  maximts  in  arboribiis 
ntdi/i cat ;"  and  oi  the  redwing  he  says,  in  the  same  place, 
thaX  ^^  mdt/icat  in  mediis  arbuscidis,  sive  sepibus :  ova  sex 
coeriileo-viridia  macidis  nigris  variis."  Hence  we  may  be 
assured  that  fieldfares  and  redwings  build  in  Sweden.  Sco- 
poli  says,  in  his  "  Annus  Primus,"  of  the  woodcock,  that 
"  niipta  ad  nos  venit  circa  cEqiiinoctium  vernale  ;  "  meaning  in 
the  Tyrol,  of  which  he  is  a  native.  And  afterwards  he  adds 
"  nidificat  in  pahidibiis  alpinis  :  ova  ponit  3-5."     It  does  not 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  I15 

appear  from  Kramer  that  woodcocks  breed  at  all  in  Austria  ; 
but  he  says,  "Avis  Jia;c  septentrionaliimi  provmciarum  cestivo 
tempore  incola  est ;  ubi  plenimqtie  nidificat.  Appropinqtiante 
hyeme  aiistraliores  provincias  petit ;  hinc  circa  pleniltmiutn 
viensis  Octobris  plernmqiie  Aiistriam  transmigrat.  Ttmc 
rursiis  ci7'cd  pleniluniinn  potissimuvi  mensis  Martii  per  Aus- 
triam  iiiatrimofiio  juncta  ad  septentrionales  provincias  redit." 
For  the  whole  passage  (which  I  have  abridged)  see  "  Elen- 
chus,"  etc.,  p.  351.  This  seems  to  be  a  full  proof  of  the 
migration  of  woodcocks  ;  though  little  is  proved  concerning 
the  place  of  breeding. 

P.S.  —  There  fell  in  the  county  of  Rutland,  in  three  weeks 
of  this  present  very  wet  weather,  seven  inches  and  a  half  of 
rain,  which  is  more  than  has  fallen  in  any  three  weeks  for 
these  thirty  years  past  in  that  part  of  the  world.  A  mean 
quantity  in  that  county  for  one  year  is  twenty  inches  and  a 
half. 


LETTER   IX 

Fyfield,  near  Andover,  Feb.  12th,  1772. 

Dear  Sir, — You  are,  I  know,  no  great  friend  to  migration; 
and  the  well-attested  accounts  from  various  parts  of  the  king- 
dom seem  to  justify  you  in  your  suspicions,  that  at  least  many 
of  the  swallow  kind  do  not  leave  us  in  the  winter,  but  lay 
themselves  up  like  insects  and  bats  in  a  torpid  state,  and 
slumber  away  the  more  uncomfortable  months  till  the  return 
of  the  sun  and  fine  weather  awakens  them. 

But  then  we  must  not,  I  think,  deny  migration  in  general ; 
because  migration  certainly  does  subsist  in  some  places,  as  my 
brother  in  Andalusia  has  fully  informed  me.  Of  the  motions 
of  these  birds  he  has  ocular  demonstration,  for  many  weeks 
together,  both  spring  and  fall ;  during  which  periods  myriads 
of  the  swallow  kind  traverse  the  straits  from  north  to  south, 
and  from  south  to  north,  according  to  the  season.  And  these 
vast  migrations  consist  not  only  of  hirundines  but  of  bee-birds, 
hoopoes,  Oro  pendolos,  or  golden  thrushes,  etc.,  etc.,  and  also 
of  many  of  our  soft-billed  summer  birds  of  passage ;  and  more- 


Il6  WHITE 

over  of  birds  which  never  leave  us,  such  as  all  the  various 
sorts  of  hawks  and  kites.  Old  Belon,  two  hundred  years  ago, 
gives  a  curious  account  of  the  incredible  armies  of  hawks  and 
kites  which  he  saw  in  the  springtime  traversing  the  Thracian 
Bosphorus  from  Asia  to  Europe.  Besides  the  above  men- 
tioned, he  remarks  that  the  procession  is  swelled  by  whole 
troops  of  eagles  and  vultures. 

Now  it  is  no  wonder  that  birds  residing  in  Africa  should  re- 
treat before  the  sun  as  it  advances,  and  retire  to  milder  regions, 
and  especially  birds  of  prey,  whose  blood  being  heated  with 
hot  animal  food,  are  more  impatient  of  a  sultry  climate ;  but 
then  I  cannot  help  wondering  why  kites  and  hawks,  and  such 
hardy  birds  as  are  known  to  defy  all  the  severity  of  England, 
and  even  of  Sweden  and  all  north  Europe,  should  want  to  mi- 
grate from  the  south  of  Europe,  and  be  dissatisfied  with  the 
winters  of  Andalusia. 

It  does  not  appear  to  me  that  much  stress  may  be  laid  on 
the  difficulty  and  hazard  that  birds  must  run  in  their  migra- 
tions, by  reason  of  vast  oceans,  cross  winds,  etc. ;  because,  if 
we  reflect,  a  bird  may  travel  from  England  to  the  equator 
without  launching  out  and  exposing  itself  to  boundless  seas, 
and  that  by  crossing  the  water  at  Dover,  and  again  at  Gibral- 
tar. And  I  with  the  more  confidence  advance  this  obvious  re- 
mark, because  my  brother  has  always  found  that  some  of  his 
birds,  and  particularly  the  swallow  kind,  are  very  sparing  of 
their  pains  in  crossing  the  Mediterranean ;  for  when  arrived 
at  Gibraltar  they  do  not 

.     .     .   "  Ranged  in  figure  wedge  their  way, 

And  set  forth 

Their  airy  caravan  high  over  seas 

Flying,  and  over  lands  with  mutual  wing 

Easing  their  flight :"....  —  MiLTON. 

but  scout  and  hurry  along  in  little  detached  parties  of  six  or 
seven  in  a  company;  and  sweeping  low,  just  over  the  surface 
of  the  land  and  water,  direct  their  course  to  the  opposite  con- 
tinent at  the  narrowest  passage  they  can  find.  They  usually 
slope  across  the  bay  to  the  south-west,  and  so  pass  over 
opposite  to  Tangier,  which,  it  seems,  is  the  narrowest  space. 
In  former  letters  we  have  considered  whether  it  was  prob- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  II7 

able  that  woodcocks  in  moonshiny  nights  cross  the  German 
Ocean  from  Scandinavia.  As  a  proof  that  birds  of  less  speed 
may  pass  that  sea,  considerable  as  it  is,  I  shall  relate  the  fol- 
lowing incident,  which,  though  mentioned  to  have  happened 
so  many  years  ago,  was  strictly  matter  of  fact :  —  As  some 
people  were  shooting  in  the  parish  of  Trotton,  in  the  county 
of  Sussex,  they  killed  a  duck  in  that  dreadful  winter,  1708-9, 
with  a  silver  collar  about  its  neck,^  on  which  were  engraven 
the  arms  of  the  king  of  Denmark.  This  anecdote  the  rector 
of  Trotton  at  that  time  has  often  told  to  a  near  relation  of 
mine ;  and,  to  the  best  of  my  remembrance,  the  collar  was  in 
the  possession  of  the  rector. 

At  present  I  do  not  know  anybody  near  the  seaside  that 
will  take  the  trouble  to  remark  at  what  time  of  the  moon 
woodcocks  first  come;  if  I  lived  near  the  sea  myself  I  would 
soon  tell  you  more  of  the  matter.  One  thing  I  used  to 
observe  when  I  was  a  sportsman,  that  there  were  times  in 
which  woodcocks  were  so  sluggish  and  sleepy  that  they 
would  drop  again  when  flushed  just  before  the  spaniels,  nay, 
just  at  the  muzzle  of  a  gun  that  had  been  fired  at  them ; 
whether  this  strange  laziness  was  the  effect  of  a  recent 
fatiguing  journey  I  shall  not  presume  to  say.^ 

Nightingales  not  only  never  reach  Northumberland  and 
Scotland,  but  also,  as  I  have  been  always  told,  Devonshire 
and  Cornwall.  In  those  two  last  counties  we  cannot  attrib- 
ute the  failure  of  them  to  the  want  of  warmth ;  the  defect 
in  the  west  is  rather  a  presumptive  argument  that  these 
birds  come  over  to  us  from  the  continent  at  the  narrowest 
passage,  and  do  not  stroll  so  far  westward. 

Let  me  hear  from  your  own  observation  whether  sky- 
larks do  not  dust.  I  think  they  do ;  and  if  they  do,  whether 
they  wash  also. 

The  Alanda  pratensis  of  Ray  was  the  poor  dupe  that  was 
educating  the  booby  of  a  cuckoo  mentioned  in  my  letter  of 
October  last. 

Your  letter  came  too  late  for  me  to  procure  a  ring-ousel  for 
Mr.  Tunstal  during  their  autumnal  visit ;  but  I  will  endeavor 
to  get  him  one  when  they  call  on  us  again  in  April.  I  am 
glad  that  you  and  that  gentleman  saw  my  Andalusian  birds ; 


Il8  WHITE 

I  hope  they  answered  your  expectation.  Royston,  or  gray 
crows,  are  winter  birds  that  come  much  about  the  same  time 
with  the  woodcock;  they,  like  the  fieldfare  and  redwing, 
have  no  apparent  reason  for  migration;  for  as  they  fare  in 
the  winter  like  their  congeners,  so  might  they  in  all  appear- 
ance in  the  summer.  Was  not  Tenant,  when  a  boy,  mis- 
taken }  did  he  not  find  a  missel-thrush's  nest,  and  take  it  for 
the  nest  of  a  fieldfare.-' 

The  stock-dove,  or  wood-pigeon,  (Ettas  Ran,  is  the  last 
winter  bird  of  passage  which  appears  with  us ;  it  is  not  seen 
till  towards  the  end  of  November :  about  twenty  years  ago 
they  abounded  in  the  district  of  Selborne ;  and  strings  of 
them  were  seen  morning  and  evening  that  reached  a  mile  or 
more ;  but  since  the  beechen  woods  have  been  greatly  thinned 
they  are  much  decreased  in  number.  The  ring-dove,  Palum- 
btis  Rail,  stays  with  us  the  whole  year,  and  breeds  several 
times  through  the  summer. 

Before  I  received  your  letter  of  October  last  I  had  just 
remarked  in  my  journal  that  the  trees  were  unusually  green. 
This  uncommon  verdure  lasted  on  late  into  November;  and 
may  be  accounted  for  from  a  late  spring,  a  cool  and  moist 
summer ;  but  more  particularly  from  vast  armies  of  chafers, 
or  tree-beetles,  which,  in  many  places,  reduced  whole  woods 
to  a  leafless  naked  state.  These  trees  shot  again  at  midsum- 
mer, and  then  retained  their  foliage  till  very  late  in  the  year.^ 

My  musical  friend,  at  whose  house  I  am  now  visiting,  has 
tried  all  the  owls  that  are  his  near  neighbors  with  a  pitch-pipe 
set  at  concert  pitch,  and  finds  they  all  hoot  in  B  flat.  He 
will  examine  the  nightingales  next  spring. 

I  am,  etc.,  etc. 

Notes 

1  I  have  read  a  like  anecdote  of  a  swan.  —  G.  W. 

2  I  have  observed  woodcocks  sluggish  and  owl-like  in  their  movements 
during  a  continuance  of  bright  cool  weather  in  the  autumn,  and  have  attrib- 
uted it  to  fatigue  after  a  long  flight.  —  G.  C.  D. 

3  The  leaves  of  a  number  of  currant  bushes  in  my  garden  were  destroyed 
this  spring  by  a  vast  number  of  the  caterpillars  of  the  magpie  moth,  so  that 
the  trees  were  black  and  apparently  lifeless  ;  yet  after  midsummer,  when  the 
caterpillars  had  turned  into  moths,  the  bushes  budded  again  and  were  soon 
in  full  leaf,  but  bore  no  fruit. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  II9 


LETTER   X 

Selborne,  Aug.  1st,  1 77 1. 

Dear  Sir,  —  From  what  follows,  it  will  appear  that  neither 
owls  nor  cuckoos  keep  to  one  note.  A  friend  remarks  that 
many  (most)  of  his  owls  hoot  in  B  flat ;  but  that  one  went 
almost  half  a  note  below  A.  The  pipe  he  tried  their  notes 
by  was  a  common  half-crown  pitch-pipe,  such  as  masters 
use  for  tuning  of  harpsichords  ;  it  was  the  common  London 
pitch. 

A  neighbor  of  mine,  who  is  said  to  have  a  nice  ear,  remarks 
that  the  owls  about  this  village  hoot  in  three  different  keys,  in 
G  flat  or  F  sharp,  in  B  flat,  and  A  flat.  He  heard  two  hoot- 
ing to  each  other,  the  one  in  A  flat,  and  the  other  in  B  flat. 
Query.  —  Do  these  different  notes  proceed  from  different  spe- 
cies, or  only  from  various  individuals  .''  The  same  person  finds 
upon  trial  that  the  note  of  the  cuckoo  (of  which  we  have  but 
one  species)  varies  indifferent  individuals  ;  for,  about  Selborne 
wood,  he  found  they  were  mostly  in  D :  he  heard  two  sing 
together,  the  one  in  D,  the  other  in  D  sharp,  who  made  a  dis- 
agreeable concert :  he  afterwards  heard  one  in  D  sharp,  and 
about  Wolmer  Forest  some  in  C.  As  to  nightingales,  he  says 
that  their  notes  are  so  short,  and  their  transitions  so  rapid,  that 
he  cannot  well  ascertain  their  key.  Perhaps  in  a  cage,  and 
in  a  room,  their  notes  may  be  more  distinguishable.  This 
person  has  tried  to  settle  the  notes  of  a  swift,  and  of  several 
other  small  birds,  but  cannot  bring  them  to  any  criterion. 

As  I  have  often  remarked  that  redwings  are  some  of  the 
first  birds  that  suffer  with  us  in  severe  weather,  it  is  no  wonder 
at  all  that  they  retreat  from  Scandinavian  winters  :  and  much 
more  the  ordo  of  grallce,  who,  all  to  a  bird,  forsake  the  north- 
ern parts  of  Europe  at  the  approach  of  winter.  "  GrallcB  tan- 
quam  conjtiratcB,  unanimiter  infngam  se  coitjiciiint ;  ne  eanint 
tinicam  quidein  inter  nos  habitantem  invenire possinius  ;  iit  enim 
cestate  in  aiistralibus  degere  nequeunt  ob  defectum  liimbricoriim, 
terramque  siccam  ;  ita  nee  infrigidis  ob  eandcm  causam,"  says 
Ekmarck  the  Swede,  in  his  ingenious  little  treatise  called 
"  Migrationes  Avium,"  which  by  all  means  you  ought  to  read 


120  WHITE 

while  your  thoughts  run  on  the  subject  of  migration.     See 
"  Amoenitates  Academicae,"  Vol.  IV.,  p.  565. 

Birds  may  be  so  circumstanced  as  to  be  obliged  to  migrate 
in  one  country,  and  not  in  another :  but  the  grallce  (which 
procure  their  food  from  marshes  and  boggy  grounds)  must  in 
winter  forsake  the  more  northerly  parts  of  Europe,  or  perish 
for  want  of  food. 

I  am  glad  you  are  making  inquiries  from  Linnaeus  concern- 
ing the  woodcock :  it  is  expected  of  him  that  he  should  be 
able  to  account  for  the  motions  and  manner  of  life  of  the 
animals  of  his  own  "  Fauna." 

Faunists,  as  you  observe,  are  too  apt  to  acquiesce  in  bare 
descriptions,  and  a  few  synonyms :  the  reason  is  plain ;  be- 
cause all  that  may  be  done  at  home  in  a  man's  study,  but  the 
investigation  of  the  life  and  conversation  of  animals  is  a  con- 
cern of  much  more  trouble  and  difficulty,  and  is  not  to  be  at- 
tained but  by  the  active  and  inquisitive,  and  by  those  that 
reside  much  in  the  country. 

Foreign  systematics  are,  I  observe,  much  too  vague  in  their 
specific  differences ;  which  are  almost  universally  constituted 
by  one  or  two  particular  marks,  the  rest  of  the  description 
running  in  general  terms.  But  our  countryman,  the  excellent 
Mr.  Ray,  is  the  only  describer  that  conveys  some  precise  idea 
in  every  term  or  word,  maintaining  his  superiority  over  his 
followers  and  imitators  in  spite  of  the  advantage  of  fresh  dis- 
coveries and  modern  information. 

At  this  distance  of  years  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  recollect 
at  what  periods  woodcocks  used  to  be  sluggish  or  alert  when 
I  was  a  sportsman :  but,  upon  my  mentioning  this  circum- 
stance to  a  friend,  he  thinks  he  has  observed  them  to  be 
remarkably  listless  against  snowy  foul  weather ;  if  this  should 
be  the  case,  then  the  inaptitude  for  flying  arises  only  from  an 
eagerness  for  food ;  as  sheep  are  observed  to  be  very  intent 
on  grazing  against  stormy  wet  evenings. 

I  am,  etc.,  etc. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  121 


LETTER   XI 

Selborne,  Feb.  Zth,  I'j'jz. 

Dear  Sir,  —  When  I  ride  about  in  the  winter,  and  see 
such  prodigious  flocks  of  various  kinds  of  birds,  I  cannot  help 
admiring  at  these  congregations,  and  wishing  that  it  was  in 
my  power  to  account  for  those  appearances  almost  peculiar  to 
the  season.  The  two  great  motives  which  regulate  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  brute  creation  are  love  and  hunger ;  the  former 
incites  animals  to  perpetuate  their  kind;  the  latter  induces 
them  to  preserve  individuals  :  whether  either  of  these  should 
seem  to  be  the  ruling  passion  in  the  matter  of  congregating 
is  to  be  considered.  As  to  love,  that  is  out  of  the  question  at 
a  time  of  the  year  when  that  soft  passion  is  not  indulged : 
besides,  during  the  amorous  season,  such  a  jealousy  prevails 
between  the  male  birds  that  they  can  hardly  bear  to  be  to- 
gether in  the  same  hedge  or  field.  Most  of  the  singing  and 
elation  of  spirits  of  that  time  seem  to  me  to  be  the  effect  of 
rivalry  and  emulation  :  and  it  is  to  this  spirit  of  jealousy  that 
I  chiefly  attribute  the  equal  dispersion  of  birds  in  the  spring 
over  the  face  of  the  country. 

Now  as  to  the  business  of  food :  as  these  animals  are  actu- 
ated by  instinct  to  hunt  for  necessary  food,  they  should  not, 
one  would  suppose,  crowd  together  in  pursuit  of  sustenance 
at  a  time  when  it  is  most  likely  to  fail ;  yet  such  associations 
do  take  place  in  hard  weather  chiefly,  and  thicken  as  the 
severity  increases.  As  some  kind  of  self-interest  and  self- 
defence  is  no  doubt  the  motive  for  the  proceeding,  may  it  not 
arise  from  the  helplessness  of  their  state  in  such  rigorous 
seasons ;  as  men  crowd  together,  when  under  great  calamities, 
though  they  know  not  why  }  Perhaps  approximation  may 
dispel  some  degree  of  cold ;  and  a  crowd  may  make  each 
individual  appear  safer  from  the  ravages  of  birds  of  prey 
and  other  dangers. 

If  I  admire  when  I  see  how  much  congenerous  birds  love 
to  congregate,  I  am  the  more  struck  when  I  see  incongruous 
ones  in  such  strict  amity.  If  we  do  not  much  wonder  to  see 
a  flock  of  rooks  usually  attended  by  a  train  of  daws,  yet  it  is 


122  WHITE 

Strange  that  the  former  should  so  frequently  have  a  flight  of 
starlings  for  their  satellites.  Is  it  because  rooks  have  a  more 
discerning  scent  than  their  attendants,  and  can  lead  them  to 
spots  more  productive  of  food  ?  Anatomists  say  that  rooks, 
by  reason  of  two  large  nerves  which  run  down  between  the 
eyes  into  the  upper  mandible,  have  a  more  delicate  feeling  in 
their  beaks  than  other  round-billed  birds,  and  can  grope  for 
their  meat  when  out  of  sight.  Perhaps,  then,  their  associates 
attend  them  on  the  motive  of  interest,  as  greyhounds  wait  on 
the  motions  of  their  finders ;  and  as  lions  are  said  to  do  on 
the  yelpings  of  jackals.     Lapwings  and  starlings  sometimes 

associate. 

♦ 

LETTER   XII 

March  gtk,  1772. 

Dear  Sir,  —  As  a  gentleman  and  myself  were  walking  on 
the  4th  of  last  November  round  the  sea-banks  at  Newhaven, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Lewes  River,  in  pursuit  of  natural 
knowledge,  we  were  surprised  to  see  three  house-swallows 
gliding  very  swiftly  by  us.  That  morning  was  rather  chilly, 
with  the  wind  at  north-west ;  but  the  tenor  of  the  weather  for 
some  time  before  had  been  delicate,  and  the  noons  remark- 
ably warm.  From  this  incident,  and  from  repeated  accounts 
which  I  meet  with,  I  am  more  and  more  induced  to  believe 
that  many  of  the  swallow  kind  do  not  depart  from  this  island, 
but  lay  themselves  up  in  holes  and  caverns ;  and  do,  insect- 
like and  bat-like,  come  forth  at  mild  times,  and  then  retire 
again  to  their  latcbrce.  Nor  make  I  the  least  doubt  but  that, 
if  I  lived  at  Newhaven,  Seaford,  Brighthelmstone,  or  any  of 
those  towns  near  the  chalk-cliffs  of  the  Sussex  coast,  by  proper 
observations  I  should  see  swallows  stirring  at  periods  of  the 
winter  when  the  noons  were  soft  and  inviting  and  the  sun 
warm  and  invigorating.  And  I  am  the  more  of  this  opinion 
from  what  I  have  remarked  during  some  of  our  late  springs, 
that  though  some  swallows  did  make  their  appearance  about 
the  usual  time,  viz.,  the  13th  or  14th  April,  yet  meeting  with 
a  harsh  reception,  and  blustering  cold  north-east  winds,  they 
immediately  withdrew,  absconding  for  several  days,  till  the 
weather  gave  them  better  encouragement. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  I 23 

LETTER   XIII 

April  i2th,  1772. 

Dear  Sir,  —  While  I  was  in  Sussex  last  autumn  my  resi- 
dence was  at  the  village  near  Lewes,  from  whence  I  had  for- 
merly the  pleasure  of  writing  to  you.  On  the  ist  November 
I  remarked  that  the  old  tortoise,  formerly  mentioned,  began 
first  to  dig  the  ground  in  order  to  the  forming  its  hybernacu- 
lum,  which  it  had  fixed  on  just  beside  a  great  tuft  of  hepaticas. 
It  scrapes  out  the  ground  with  its  fore-feet,  and  throws  it  up 
over  its  back  with  its  hind ;  but  the  motion  of  its  legs  is  ridicu- 
lously slow,  little  exceeding  the  hour-hand  of  a  clock ;  and 
suitable  to  the  composure  of  an  animal  said  to  be  a  whole  month 
in  performing  one  feat  of  copulation.  Nothing  can  be  more 
assiduous  than  this  creature  night  and  day  in  scooping  the 
earth,  and  forcing  its  great  body  into  the  cavity ;  but,  as  the 
noons  of  that  season  proved  unusually  warm  and  sunny,  it 
was  continually  interrupted,  and  called  forth  by  the  heat  in 
the  middle  of  the  day  ;  and  though  I  continued  there  till  the 
13th  November,  yet  the  work  remained  unfinished.  Harsher 
weather,  and  frosty  mornings,  would  have  quickened  its  oper- 
ations. No  part  of  its  behavior  ever  struck  me  more  than  the 
extreme  timidity  it  always  expresses  with  regard  to  rain ;  for 
though  it  has  a  shell  that  would  secure  it  against  the  wheel  of 
a  loaded  cart,  yet  does  it  discover  as  much  solicitude  about 
rain  as  a  lady  dressed  in  all  her  best  attire,  shuffling  away  on 
the  first  sprinklings,  and  running  its  head  up  in  a  corner.  If 
attended  to,  it  becomes  an  excellent  weather-glass ;  for  as  sure 
as  it  walks  elate,  and  as  it  were  on  tiptoe,  feeding  with  great 
earnestness  in  a  morning,  so  sure  will  it  rain  before  night.  It 
is  totally  a  diurnal  animal,  and  never  pretends  to  stir  after  it 
becomes  dark.  The  tortoise,  like  other  reptiles,  has  an  arbi- 
trary stomach  as  well  as  lungs ;  and  can  refrain  from  eating 
as  well  as  breathing  for  a  great  part  of  the  year.  When  first 
awakened  it  eats  nothing;  nor  again  in  the  autumn  before  it 
retires:  through  the  height  of  the  summer  it  feeds  voraciously, 
devouring  all  the  food  that  comes  in  its  way.  I  was  much 
taken  with  its  sagacity  in  discerning  those  that  do  it  kind 
offices ;  for,  as  soon  as  the  good  old  lady  comes  in  sight  who 


t24  WHITE 

has  waited  on  it  for  more  than  thirty  years,  it  hobbles  towards 
its  benefactress  with  awkward  alacrity ;  but  remains  inatten- 
tive to  strangers.  Thus  not  only  "the  ox  knoweth  his  owner, 
and  the  ass  his  master's  crib,"^  but  the  most  abject  reptile  and 
torpid  of  beings  distinguishes  the  hand  that  feeds  it,  and  is 
touched  with  the  feelings  of  gratitude ! 

I  am,  etc.,  etc. 

P.S.  —  In  about  three  days  after  I  left  Sussex  the  tortoise 
retired  into  the  ground  under  the  hepatica. 

Note 
Msa.  i.  3.  — G.  W. 


LETTER   XIV 

Selborne,  March  26th,  1773. 

Dear  Sir, — The  more  I  reflect  on  the  a-Topyij  of  animals,  the 
more  I  am  astonished  at  its  effects.  Nor  is  the  violence  of  this 
affection  more  wonderful  than  the  shortness  of  its  duration. 
Thus  every  hen  is  in  her  turn  the  virago  of  the  yard,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  helplessness  of  her  brood ;  and  will  fly  in  the  face 
of  a  dog  or  a  sow  in  defence  of  those  chickens  which  in  a  few 
weeks  she  will  drive  before  her  with  relentless  cruelty. 

This  affection  sublimes  the  passions,  quickens  the  invention, 
and  sharpens  the  sagacity  of  the  brute  creation.  Thus  a  hen, 
just  become  a  mother,  is  no  longer  that  placid  bird  she  used 
to  be,  but  with  feathers  standing  on  end,  wings  hovering,  and 
clocking  note,  she  runs  about  like  one  possessed.  Dams  will 
throw  themselves  in  the  way  of  the  greatest  danger  in  order 
to  avert  it  from  their  progeny.  Thus  a  partridge  will  tumble 
along  before  a  sportsman  in  order  to  draw  away  the  dogs  from 
her  helpless  covey.  In  the  time  of  nidification  the  most  feeble 
birds  will  assault  the  most  rapacious.  All  the  hirundines  of  a 
village  are  up  in  arms  at  the  sight  of  a  hawk,  whom  they  will 
persecute  till  he  leaves  that  district.  A  very  exact  observer 
has  often  remarked  that  a  pair  of  ravens  nesting  in  the  rock 
of  Gibraltar  would  suffer  no  vulture  or  eagle  to  rest  near  their 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  1 25 

station,  but  would  drive  them  from  the  hill  with  an  amazing 
fury ;  even  the  blue  thrush  at  the  season  of  breeding  would 
dart  out  from  the  clefts  of  the  rocks  to  chase  away  the  kestril, 
or  the  sparrow-hawk.  If  you  stand  near  the  nest  of  a  bird 
that  has  young,  she  will  not  be  induced  to  betray  them  by  an 
inadvertent  fondness,  but  will  wait  about  at  a  distance  with 
meat  in  her  mouth  for  an  hour  together. 

Should  I  farther  corroborate  what  I  have  advanced  above 
by  some  anecdotes  which  I  probably  may  have  mentioned 
before  in  conversation,  yet  you  will,  I  trust,  pardon  the  repeti- 
tion for  the  sake  of  the  illustration. 

The  fly-catcher  of  the  "  Zoology  "  (the  Stoparola  of  Ray) 
builds  every  year  in  the  vines  that  grow  on  the  walls  of  my 
house.  A  pair  of  these  little  birds  had  one  year  inadvertently 
placed  their  nest  on  a  naked  bough,  perhaps  in  a  shady  time, 
not  being  aware  of  the  inconvenience  that  followed.  But  a 
hot  sunny  season  coming  on  before  the  brood  was  half  fledged, 
the  reflection  of  the  wall  became  insupportable,  and  must  in- 
evitably have  destroyed  the  tender  young,  had  not  affection 
suggested  an  expedient,  and  prompted  the  parent  birds  to 
hover  over  the  nest  all  the  hotter  hours,  while  with  wings  ex- 
panded, and  mouths  gaping  for  breath,  they  screened  off  the 
heat  from  their  suffering  offspring. 

A  farther  instance  I  once  saw  of  notable  sagacity  in  a 
willow-wren,  which  had  built  in  a  bank  in  my  fields.  This  bird 
a  friend  and  myself  had  observed  as  she  sat  in  her  nest ;  but 
were  particularly  careful  not  to  disturb  her,  though  we  saw 
she  eyed  us  with  some  degree  of  jealousy.  Some  days  after 
as  we  passed  that  way  we  were  desirous  of  remarking  how  this 
brood  went  on  ;  but  no  nest  could  be  found,  till  I  happened  to 
take  a  large  bundle  of  long  green  moss,  as  it  were  carelessly 
thrown  over  the  nest  in  order  to  dodge  the  eye  of  any  im- 
pertinent intruder. 

A  still  more  remarkable  mixture  of  sagacity  and  instinct 
occurred  to  me  one  day  as  my  people  were  pulling  off  the 
lining  of  a  hotbed,  in  order  to  add  some  fresh  dung.  From 
out  of  the  side  of  this  bed  leaped  an  animal,  with  great  agility, 
that  made  a  most  grotesque  figure ;  nor  was  it  without  great 
difficulty  that  it  could  be  taken ;  when  it  proved  to  be  a  large 


126  WHITE 

white-bellied  field-mouse  with  three  or  four  young  clinging  to 
her  teats  by  their  mouths  and  feet.  It  was  amazing  that  the 
desultory  and  rapid  motions  of  this  dam  should  not  oblige  her 
litter  to  quit  their  hold,  especially  when  it  appeared  that  they 
were  so  young  as  to  be  both  naked  and  blind ! 

To  these  instances  of  tender  attachment,  many  more  of 
which  might  be  daily  discovered  by  those  that  are  studious  of 
nature,  may  be  opposed  that  rage  of  affection,  that  monstrous 
perversion  of  the  <TTop<yr),  which  induces  some  females  of  the 
brute  creation  to  devour  their  young  because  their  owners  have 
handled  them  too  freely,  or  removed  them  from  place  to  place! 
Swine,  and  sometimes  the  more  gentle  race  of  dogs  and  cats, 
are  guilty  of  this  horrid  and  preposterous  murder.  When  I 
hear  now  and  then  of  an  abandoned  mother  that  destroys  her 
offspring,  I  am  not  so  much  amazed ;  since  reason  perverted, 
and  the  bad  passions  let  loose,  are  capable  of  any  enormity ; 
but  why  the  parental  feelings  of  brutes,  that  usually  flow  in 
one  most  uniform  tenor,  should  sometimes  be  so  extravagantly 
diverted,  I  leave  to  abler  philosophers  than  myself  to  deter- 
mine. 

»  I  am,  etc. 

LETTER   XV 

Selborne,  July  Zth,  1773. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Some  young  men  went  down  lately  to  a  pond 
on  the  verge  of  Wolmer  Forest  to  hunt  flappers,  or  young 
wild-ducks,  many  of  which  they  caught,  and,  among  the  rest, 
some  very  minute  yet  well-fledged  wild-fowls  alive,  which  upon 
examination  I  found  to  be  teals.  I  did  not  know  till  then  that 
teals  ever  bred  in  the  south  of  England,  and  was  much  pleased 
with  the  discovery :  this  I  look  upon  as  a  great  stroke  in  natu- 
ral history. 

We  have  had,  ever  since  I  can  remember,  a  pair  of  white 
owls  that  constantly  breed  under  the  eaves  of  this  church.  As 
I  have  paid  good  attention  to  the  manner  of  life  of  these  birds 
during  their  season  of  breeding,  which  lasts  the  summer 
through,  the  following  remarks  may  not  perhaps  be  unaccept- 
able :  —  About  an  hour  before  sunset  (for  then  the  mice  begin 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  12/ 

to  run)  they  sally  forth  in  quest  of  prey,  and  hunt  all  round 
the  hedges  of  meadows  and  small  enclosures  for  them,  which 
seem  to  be  their  only  food.  In  this  irregular  country  we  can 
stand  on  an  eminence  and  see  them  beat  the  fields  over  like  a 
setting  dog,  and  often  drop  down  in  the  grass  or  corn.  I  have 
minuted  these  birds  with  my  watch  for  an  hour  together,  and 
have  found  that  they  return  to  their  nest,  the  one  or  the  other 
of  them,  about  once  in  five  minutes ;  reflecting  at  the  same 
time  on  the  adroitness  that  every  animal  is  possessed  of  as  far 
as  regards  the  well-being  of  itself  and  offspring.  But  a  piece 
of  address,  which  they  show  when  they  return  loaded,  should 
not,  I  think,  be  passed  over  in  silence.  —  As  they  take  their 
prey  with  their  claws,  so  they  carry  it  in  their  claws  to  their 
nest ;  but,  as  the  feet  are  necessary  in  their  ascent  under  the 
tiles,  they  constantly  perch  first  on  the  roof  of  the  chancel, 
and  shift  the  mouse  from  their  claws  to  their  bill,  that  their 
feet  may  be  at  liberty  to  take  hold  of  the  plate  on  the  wall  as 
they  are  rising  under  the  eaves. 

White  owls  seem  not  (but  in  this  I  am  not  positive)  to  hoot 
at  all ;  ^  all  that  clamorous  hooting  appears  to  me  to  come 
from  the  wood  kinds.  The  white  owl  does  indeed  snore  and 
hiss  in  a  tremendous  manner ;  and  these  menaces  well  answer 
the  intention  of  intimidating ;  for  I  have  known  a  whole  vil- 
lage up  in  arms  on  such  an  occasion,  imagining  the  church- 
yard to  be  full  of  goblins  and  spectres.  White  owls  also  often 
scream  horribly  as  they  fly  along ;  from  this  screaming  proba- 
bly arose  the  common  people's  imaginary  species  of  screech- 
owl,  which  they  superstitiously  think  attends  the  windows  of 
dying  persons.  The  plumage  of  the  remiges  of  the  wings  of 
every  species  of  owl  that  I  have  yet  examined  is  remarkably 
soft  and  pliant.  Perhaps  it  may  be  necessary  that  the  wings 
of  these  birds  should  not  make  much  resistance  or  rushing, 
that  they  may  be  enabled  to  steal  through  the  air  unheard 
upon  a  nimble  and  watchful  quarry. 

While  I  am  talking  of  owls,  it  may  not  be  improper  to 
mention  what  I  was  told  by  a  gentleman  of  the  county  of  Wilts. 
As  they  were  grubbing  a  vast  hollow  pollard-ash  that  had  been 
the  mansion  of  owls  for  centuries,  he  discovered  at  the  bottom 
a  mass  of  matter  that  at  first  he  could  not  account  for.     After 


128  WHITE 

some  examination  he  found  that  it  was  a  congeries  of  the  bones 
of  mice  (and  perhaps  of  birds  and  bats)  that  had  been  heaping 
together  for  ages,  being  cast  up  in  pellets  out  of  the  crops  of 
many  generations  of  inhabitants.  For  owls  cast  up  the  bones, 
fur,  and  feathers  of  what  they  devour,  after  the  manner  of 
hawks.  He  believes,  he  told  me,  that  there  were  bushels  of 
this  kind  of  substance. 

When  brown  owls  hoot,  their  throats  swell  as  big  as  a  hen's 
egg.  I  have  known  an  owl  of  this  species  live  a  full  year 
without  any  water.  Perhaps  the  case  may  be  the  same  with 
all  birds  of  prey.  When  owls  fly  they  stretch  out  their  legs 
behind  them  as  a  balance  to  their  large  heavy  heads,  for  as 
most  nocturnal  birds  have  large  eyes  and  ears  they  must  have 
large  heads  to  contain  them.  Large  eyes  I  presume  are  neces- 
sary to  collect  every  ray  of  light,  and  large  concave  ears  to  com- 
mand the  smallest  degree  of  sound  or  noise.  I  am,  etc. 

[It  will  be  proper  to  premise  here  that  the  sixteenth,  eigh- 
teenth, twentieth,  and  twenty-first  letters  have  been  published 
already  in  the  "  Philosophical  Transactions ; "  but  as  nicer 
observation  has  furnished  several  corrections  and  additions,  it 
is  hoped  that  the  republication  of  them  will  not  give  offence ; 
especially  as  these  sheets  would  be  very  imperfect  without 
them,  and  as  they  will  be  new  to  many  readers  who  had 
no  opportunity  of  seeing  them  when  they  made  their  first 
appearance.] 

"  The  hirundines  are  a  most  inoffensive,  harmless,  entertain- 
ing, social,  and  useful  tribe  of  birds  ;  they  touch  no  fruit  in  our 
gardens ;  delight,  all  except  one  species,  in  attaching  them- 
selves to  our  houses ;  amuse  us  with  their  migrations,  songs, 
and  marvellous  agility ;  and  clear  our  outlets  from  the  annoy- 
ances of  gnats  and  other  troublesome  insects.  Some  districts 
in  the  south  seas,  near  Guayaquil,  are  desolated,  it  seems,  by 
the  infinite  swarms  of  venomous  mosquitoes  which  fill  the 
air  and  render  those  coasts  insupportable.  It  would  be  worth 
inquiring  whether  any  species  of  hirundines  is  found  in  those 
regions.  Whoever  contemplates  the  myriads  of  insects  that 
sport  in  the  sunbeams  of  a  summer  evening  in  this  country, 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  1 29 

will  soon  be  convinced  to  what  a  degree  our  atmosphere  would 
be  choked  with  them  was  it  not  for  the  friendly  interposition 
of  the  swallow  tribe. 

"  Many  species  of  birds  have  their  peculiar  lice ;  but  the 
hirundines  alone  seem  to  be  annoyed  with  dipterous  insects, 
which  infest  every  species,  and  are  so  large,  in  proportion  to 
themselves,  that  they  must  be  extremely  irksome  and  injurious 
to  them.  These  are  the  Jiippobosccs  hinuidinis,  with  narrow 
subulated  wings,  abounding  in  every  nest ;  and  are  hatched  by 
the  warmth  of  the  bird's  own  body  during  incubation,  and  crawl 
about  under  its  feathers. 

"A  species  of  them  is  familiar  to  horsemen  in  the  south  of 
England  under  the  name  of  forest-fly  ;  and  to  some  of  side-fly, 
from  its  running  sideways  like  a  crab.  It  creeps  under  the 
tails,  and  about  the  groins,  of  horses,  which,  at  their  first  com- 
ing out  of  the  north,  are  rendered  half  frantic  by  the  tickling 
sensation  ;  while  our  own  breed  little  regards  them, 

"  The  curious  Reaumur  discovered  the  large  eggs,  or  rather 
pupcE,  of  these  flies  as  big  as  the  flies  themselves,  which  he 
hatched  in  his  own  bosom.  Any  person  that  will  take  the 
trouble  to  examine  the  old  nests  of  either  species  of  swallows 
may  find  in  them  the  black,  shining  cases  or  skins  of  the/;//c^ 
of  these  insects ;  but  for  other  particulars,  too  long  for  this 
place,  we  refer  the  reader  to  'L'Histoire  d'lnsectes'  of  that 
admirable  entomologist.     Tom.  iv.,  pi,  ii." 

Notes 

^  The  white  owl  does  hoot,  although  it  is  not  its  most  frequent  cry.  — 
G.  C.  D. 

2  See  Ulloa's  "Travels."  — G.  W. 


LETTER   XVI 

Selborne,  Nov.  20th,  1773. 

Dear  Sir,  —  In  obedience  to  your  injunctions  I  sit  down  to 

give  you  some  account  of  the  house-martin,  or  martlet ;  and  if 

my  monography  of  this  little  domestic  and  familiar  bird  should 

happen  to  meet  with  your  approbation,  I  may  probably  soon 

10 


I30  WHITE 

extend  my  inquiries  to  the  rest  of  the  British  hirundines  —  the 
sv/allow,  the  swift,  and  the  bank-martin. 

A  few  house-martins  begin  to  appear  about  the  i6th  April; 
usually  some  few  days  later  than  the  swallow.  For  some  time 
after  they  appear  the  hirundines  in  general  pay  no  attention 
to  the  business  of  nidification,  but  play  and  sport  about,  either 
to  recruit  from  the  fatigue  of  their  journey,  if  they  do  migrate 
at  all,  or  else  that  their  blood  may  recover  its  true  tone  and 
texture  after  it  has  been  so  long  benumbed  by  the  severities  of 
winter.  About  the  middle  of  May,  if  the  weather  be  fine,  the 
martin  begins  to  think  in  earnest  of  providing  a  mansion  for 
its  family.  The  crust  or  shell  of  this  nest  seems  to  be  formed 
of  such  dirt  or  loam  as  comes  most  readily  to  hand,  and  is  tem- 
pered and  wrought  together  with  little  bits  of  broken  straws 
to  render  it  tough  and  tenacious.  As  this  bird  often  builds 
against  a  perpendicular  wall  without  any  projecting  ledge 
under,  it  requires  its  utmost  efforts  to  get  the  first  foundation 
firmly  fixed,  so  that  it  may  safely  carry  the  superstructure.  On 
this  occasion  the  bird  not  only  clings  with  its  claws,  but  partly 
supports  itself  by  strongly  inclining  its  tail  against  the  wall, 
making  that  a  fulcrum ;  and  thus  steadied,  it  works  and  plas- 
ters the  materials  into  the  face  of  the  brick  or  stone.  But  then, 
that  this  work  may  not,  while  it  is  soft  and  green,  pull  itself 
down  by  its  own  weight,  the  provident  architect  has  prudence 
and  forbearance  enough  not  to  advance  her  work  too  fast ;  but 
by  building  only  in  the  morning,  and  by  dedicating  the  rest  of 
the  day  to  food  and  amusement,  gives  it  sufficient  time  to  dry 
and  harden.  About  half  an  inch  seems  to  be  a  sufficient  layer 
for  a  day.  Thus  careful  workmen,  when  they  build  mud-walls 
(informed  at  first  perhaps  by  this  little  bird),  raise  but  a  mod- 
erate layer  at  a  time,  and  then  desist,  lest  the  work  should  be- 
come top-heavy,  and  so  be  ruined  by  its  own  weight.  By  this 
method  in  about  ten  or  twelve  days  is  formed  a  hemispheric 
nest  with  a  small  aperture  towards  the  top,  strong,  compact, 
and  warm ;  and  perfectly  fitted  for  all  the  purposes  for  which 
it  was  intended.  But  then  nothing  is  more  common  than  for 
the  house-sparrow,  as  soon  as  the  shell  is  finished,  to  seize  on 
it  as  its  own,  to  eject  the  owner,  and  to  line  it  after  its  own 
manner. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  I3I 

After  so  much  labor  is  bestowed  in  erecting  a  mansion,  as 
nature  seldom  works  in  vain,  martins  will  breed  on  for  several 
years  together  in  the  same  nest,  where  it  happens  to  be  well 
sheltered  and  secure  from  the  injuries  of  weather.  The  shell 
or  crust  of  the  nest  is  a  sort  of  rustic  work,  full  of  knobs  and 
protuberances  on  the  outside ;  nor  is  the  inside  of  those  that 
I  have  examined  smoothed  with  any  exactness  at  all ;  but  is 
rendered  soft  and  warm,  and  fit  for  incubation,  by  a  lining  of 
small  straws,  grasses,  and  feathers,  and  sometimes  by  a  bed 
of  moss  interwoven  with  wool.  In  this  nest  they  tread,  or 
engender,  frequently  during  the  time  of  building  ;  and  the  hen 
lays  from  three  to  five  white  eggs. 

At  first,  when  the  young  are  hatched  and  are  in  a  naked 
and  helpless  condition,  the  parent  birds,  with  tender  assiduity, 
carry  out  what  comes  away  from  their  young.  Was  it  not  for 
this  affectionate  cleanliness  the  nestlings  would  soon  be  burnt 
up  and  destroyed,  in  so  deep  and  hollow  a  nest,  by  their  own 
caustic  excrement.  In  the  quadruped  creation  the  same  neat 
precaution  is  made  use  of  ;  particularly  among  dogs  and  cats, 
where  the  dams  lick  away  what  proceeds  from  their  young. 
But  in  birds  there  seems  to  be  a  particular  provision,  that  the 
dung  of  nestlings  is  enveloped  in  a  tough  kind  of  jelly,  and 
therefore  is  the  easier  conveyed  off  without  soiling  or  daubing. 
Yet,  as  nature  is  cleanly  in  all  her  ways,  the  young  perform 
this  office  for  themselves  in  a  little  time  by  thrusting  their 
tails  out  at  the  aperture  of  their  nest.  As  the  young  of  small 
birds  presently  arrive  at  their  rjXiKLa,  or  full  growth,  they  soon 
become  impatient  of  confinement,  and  sit  all  day  with  their 
heads  out  at  the  orifice,  where  the  dams,  by  clinging  to  the 
nest,  supply  them  with  food  from  morning  to  night.  For  a 
time  the  young  are  fed  on  the  wing  by  their  parents  ;  but  the 
feat  is  done  by  so  quick  and  almost  imperceptible  a  flight  that 
a  person  must  have  attended  very  exactly  to  their  motions 
before  he  would  be  able  to  perceive  it.  As  soon  as  the  young 
are  able  to  shift  for  themselves,  the  dams  immediately  turn 
their  thoughts  to  the  business  of  a  second  brood ;  while  the 
first  flight,  shaken  off  and  rejected  by  their  nurses,  congregate 
in  great  flocks,  and  are  the  birds  that  are  seen  clustering  and 
hovering  on  sunny  mornings  and  evenings  round  towers  and 


132  WHITE 

Steeples,  and  on  the  roofs  of  churches  and  houses.  These 
congregatings  usually  begin  to  take  place  about  the  first  week 
in  August ;  and  therefore  we  may  conclude  that  by  that  time 
the  first  flight  is  pretty  well  over.  The  young  of  this  species 
do  not  quit  their  abodes  altogether ;  but  the  more  forward  birds 
get  abroad  some  days  before  the  rest.  These  approaching 
the  eaves  of  buildings,  and  playing  about  before  them,  make 
people  think  that  several  old  ones  attend  one  nest.  They  are 
often  capricious  in  fixing  on  a  nesting-place,  beginning  many 
edifices,  and  leaving  them  unfinished ;  but  when  once  a  nest 
is  completed  in  a  sheltered  place,  it  serves  for  several  seasons. 
Those  which  breed  in  a  ready  finished  house  get  the  start  in 
hatching  of  those  that  build  new  by  ten  days  or  a  fortnight. 
These  industrious  artificers  are  at  their  labors  in  the  long  days 
before  four  in  the  morning.  When  they  fix  their  materials 
they  plaster  them  on  with  their  chins,  moving  their  heads  with 
a  quick  vibratory  motion.  They  dip  and  wash  as  they  fly 
sometimes  in  very  hot  weather ;  but  not  so  frequently  as  swal- 
lows. It  has  been  observed  that  martins  usually  build  to  a 
north-east  or  north-west  aspect,  that  the  heat  of  the  sun  may 
not  crack  and  destroy  their  nests ;  but  instances  are  also  remem- 
bered where  they  bred  for  many  years  in  vast  abundance  in  a 
hot  stifled  inn-yard  against  a  wall  facing  to  the  south. 

Birds  in  general  are  wise  in  their  choice  of  situation  ;  but  in 
this  neighborhood  every  summer  is  seen  a  strong  proof  to  the 
contrary  at  a  house  without  eaves  in  an  exposed  district,  where 
some  martins  build  year  by  year  in  the  corners  of  the  windows. 
But,  as  the  corners  of  these  windows  (which  face  to  the  south- 
east and  south-west)  are  too  shallow,  the  nests  are  washed  down 
every  hard  rain ;  and  yet  these  birds  drudge  on  to  no  purpose 
from  summer  to  summer,  without  changing  their  aspect  or 
house.  It  is  a  piteous  sight  to  see  them  laboring  when  half 
their  nest  is  washed  away  and  bringing  dirt  .  .  .  ^^ generis  lapsi 
sarcire  ruiiias.'"  Thus  is  instinct  a  most  wonderful  unequal 
faculty ;  in  some  instances  so  much  above  reason,  in  other 
respects  so  far  below  it !  Martins  love  to  frequent  towns, 
especially  if  there  are  great  lakes  and  rivers  at  hand  ;  nay, 
they  even  affect  the  close  air  of  London.  And  I  have  not 
only  seen  them  nesting  in  the  Borough,  but  even  in  the  Strand 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  1 33 

and  Fleet  Street ;  but  then  it  was  obvious  from  the  dinginess 
of  their  aspect  that  their  feathers  partook  of  the  filth  of  that 
sooty  atmosphere.  Martins  are  by  far  the  least  agile  of  the 
four  species ;  their  wings  and  tails  are  short,  and  therefore 
they  are  not  capable  of  such  surprising  turns  and  quick  and 
glancing  evolutions  as  the  swallow.  Accordingly  they  make 
use  of  a  placid  easy  motion  in  a  middle  region  of  the  air,  sel- 
dom mounting  to  any  great  height,  and  never  sweeping  long 
together  over  the  surface  of  the  ground  or  water.  They  do 
not  wander  far  for  food,  but  affect  sheltered  districts,  over 
some  lake,  or  under  some  hanging  wood,  or  in  some  hollow 
vale,  especially  in  windy  weather.  They  breed  the  latest  of 
all  the  swallow  kind  :  in  1772  they  had  nestlings  on  to  Octo- 
ber 2 1  St,  and  are  never  without  unfledged  young  as  late  as 
Michaelmas. 

As  the  summer  declines  the  congregating  flocks  increase  in 
numbers  daily  by  the  constant  accession  of  the  second  broods ; 
till  at  last  they  swarm  in  myriads  upon  myriads  round  the  vil- 
lages on  the  Thames,  darkening  the  face  of  the  sky  as  they 
frequent  the  aits  of  that  river,  where  they  roost.  They  retire, 
the  bulk  of  them  I  mean,  in  vast  flocks  together  about  the  begin- 
ning of  October ;  but  have  appeared  of  late  years  in  a  consid- 
erable flight  in  this  neighborhood,  for  one  day  or  two,  as  late 
as  November  3rd  and  6th,  after  they  were  supposed  to  have 
been  gone  for  more  than  a  fortnight.  They  therefore  with- 
draw with  us  the  latest  of  any  species.  Unless  these  birds 
are  very  short-lived  indeed,  or  unless  they  do  not  return  to 
the  districts  where  they  are  bred,  they  must  undergo  vast 
devastations  somehow,  and  somewhere ;  for  the  birds  that 
return  yearly  bear  no  manner  of  proportion  to  the  birds  that 
retire. 

House-martins  are  distinguished  from  their  congeners  by 
having  their  legs  covered  with  soft  downy  feathers  down  to 
their  toes.  They  are  no  songsters ;  but  twitter  in  a  pretty 
inward  soft  manner  in  their  nests.  During  the  time  of  breed- 
ing they  are  often  greatly  molested  with  fleas. 

I  am,  etc. 


134  WHITE 


LETTER   XVII 

RiNGMER,  near  Lewes,  Dec.  gth,  1773. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  received  your  last  favor  just  as  I  was  setting 
out  for  this  place ;  and  am  pleased  to  find  that  my  monog- 
raphy  met  with  your  approbation.  My  remarks  are  the  re- 
sult of  many  years'  observation ;  and  are  I  trust  true  in  the 
whole,  though  I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  they  are  perfectly 
void  of  mistake,  or  that  a  more  nice  observer  might  not  make 
many  additions,  since  subjects  of  this  kind  are  inexhaustible. 

If  you  think  my  letter  worthy  the  notice  of  your  respectable 
society,  you  are  at  liberty  to  lay  it  before  them  ;  and  they  will 
consider  it,  I  hope,  as  it  was  intended,  as  a  humble  attempt  to 
promote  a  more  minute  inquiry  into  natural  history ;  into  the 
life  and  conversation  of  animals.  Perhaps,  hereafter,  I  may 
be  induced  to  take  the  house-swallow  under  consideration;  and 
from  that  proceed  to  the  rest  of  the  British  hirundines. 

Though  I  have  now  travelled  the  Sussex  Downs  upwards 
of  thirty  years,  yet  I  still  investigate  that  chain  of  majestic 
mountains  with  fresh  admiration  year  by  year ;  and  I  think  I 
see  new  beauties  every  time  I  traverse  it.  This  range,  which 
runs  from  Chichester  eastward  as  far  as  East  Bourn,  is  about 
sixty  miles  in  length,  and  is  called  the  South  Downs,  properly 
speaking,  only  round  Lewes.  As  you  pass  along  you  command 
a  noble  view  of  the  wild,  or  weald,  on  one  hand,  and  the  broad 
downs  and  sea  on  the  other.  Mr.  Ray  used  to  visit  a  family 
just  at  the  foot  of  these  hills,  and  was  so  ravished  with  the 
prospect  from  Plumpton  Plain,  near  Lewes,  that  he  mentions 
those  scapes  in  his  "  Wisdom  of  God  in  the  Works  of  the  Crea- 
tion "  with  the  utmost  satisfaction,  and  thinks  them  equal  to 
anything  he  has  seen  in  the  finest  parts  of  Europe. 

For  my  own  part,  I  think  there  is  somewhat  peculiarly  sweet 
and  amusing  in  the  shapely-figured  aspect  of  chalk-hills  in 
preference  to  those  of  stone,  which  are  rugged,  broken,  abrupt, 
and  shapeless. 

Perhaps  I  may  be  singular  in  my  opinion,  and  not  so  happy 
as  to  convey  to  you  the  same  idea ;  but  I  never  contemplate 
these  mountains  without  thinking  I  perceive  somewhat  analo- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  1 35 

gous  to  growth  in  their  gentle  swellings  and  smooth  fungus- 
like  protuberances,  their  fluted  sides,  and  regular  hollows  and 
slopes,  that  carry  at  once  the  air  of  vegetative  dilation  and 
expansion.  .  .  . 

...  Or  was  there  ever  a  time  when  these  immense  masses 
of  calcareous  matter  were  thrown  into  fermentation  by  some 
adventitious  moisture ;  were  raised  and  leavened  into  such 
shapes  by  some  plastic  power ;  and  so  made  to  swell  and 
heave  their  broad  backs  into  the  sky  so  much  above  the  less 
animated  clay  of  the  wild  below  .-* 

By  what  I  can  guess  from  the  admeasurements  of  the  hills 
that  have  been  taken  round  my  house,  I  should  suppose  that 
these  hills  surmount  the  wild  at  an  average  at  about  the  rate 
of  five  hundred  feet. 

One  thing  is  very  remarkable  as  to  the  sheep  :  from  the 
westward  till  you  get  to  the  river  Adur  all  the  flocks  have 
horns,  and  smooth  white  faces,  and  white  legs,  and  a  hornless 
sheep  is  rarely  to  be  seen ;  but  as  soon  as  you  pass  that  river 
eastward,  and  mount  Beeding  Hill,  all  the  flocks  at  once  be- 
come hornless,  or  as  they  call  them,  poll-sheep ;  and  have, 
moreover,  black  faces  with  a  white  tuft  of  wool  on  their  fore- 
heads, and  speckled  and  spotted  legs,  so  that  you  would  think 
that  the  flocks  of  Laban  were  pasturing  on  one  side  of  the 
stream,  and  the  variegated  breed  of  his  son-in-law  Jacob  were 
cantoned  along  on  the  other.  And  this  diversity  holds  good  re- 
spectively on  each  side  from  the  valley  of  Bramber  and  Beed- 
ing to  the  eastward,  and  westward  all  the  whole  length  of  the 
downs.  If  you  talk  with  the  shepherds  on  this  subject,  they 
tell  you  that  the  case  has  been  so  from  time  immemorial;  and 
smile  at  your  simplicity  if  you  ask  them  whether  the  situation 
of  these  two  different  breeds  might  not  be  reversed.  How- 
ever, an  intelligent  friend  of  mine  near  Chichester  is  deter- 
mined to  try  the  experiment ;  and  has  this  autumn,  at  the 
hazard  of  being  laughed  at,  introduced  a  parcel  of  black-faced 
hornless  rams  among  his  horned  western  ewes.  The  black- 
faced  poll-sheep  have  the  shortest  legs  and  the  finest  wool. 

As  I  had  hardly  ever  before  travelled  these  downs  at  so  late 
a  season  of  the  year,  I  was  determined  to  keep  as  sharp  a  look- 
out as  possible  so  near  the  southern  coast,  with  respect  to  the 


136  WHITE 

summer  short-winged  birds  of  passage.  We  make  great  in- 
quiries concerning  the  withdrawing  of  the  swallow  kind,  with- 
out examining  enough  into  the  causes  why  this  tribe  is  never 
to  be  seen  in  winter ;  for,  entre  nous,  the  disappearing  of  the 
latter  is  more  marvellous  than  that  of  the  former,  and  much 
more  unaccountable.  The  hirundines,  if  they  please,  are  cer- 
tainly capable  of  migration,  and  yet  no  doubt  are  often  found 
in  a  torpid  state ;  but  redstarts,  nightingales,  whitethroats, 
blackcaps,  etc.,  etc.,  are  very  ill  provided  for  long  flights ; 
have  never  been  once  found,  as  I  ever  heard  of,  in  a  torpid 
state,  and  yet  can  never  be  supposed,  in  such  troops,  from 
year  to  year  to  dodge  and  elude  the  eyes  of  the  curious  and 
inquisitive,  which  from  day  to  day  discern  the  other  small 
birds  that  are  known  to  abide  our  winters.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing all  my  care,  I  saw  nothing  like  a  summer  bird  of  passage ; 
and  what  is  more  strange  not  one  wheat-ear,  though  they  abound 
so  in  the  autumn  as  to  be  a  considerable  perquisite  to  the  shep- 
herds that  take  them ;  and  though  many  are  to  be  seen  to  my 
knowledge  all  the  winter  through  in  many  parts  of  the  south 
of  England.  The  most  intelligent  shepherds  tell  me  that  som^e 
few  of  these  birds  appear  on  the  downs  in  March,  and  then 
withdraw  to  breed  probably  in  warrens  and  stone-quarries : 
now  and  then  a  nest  is  ploughed  up  in  a  fallow  on  the  downs 
under  a  furrow,  but  it  is  thought  a  rarity.  At  the  time  of 
wheat-harvest  they  begin  to  be  taken  in  great  numbers ;  are 
sent  for  sale  in  vast  quantities  to  Brighthelmstone  and  Tun- 
bridge  ;  and  appear  at  the  tables  of  all  the  gentry  that  enter- 
tain with  any  degree  of  elegance.  About  Michaelmas  they 
retire  and  are  seen  no  more  till  March.  Though  these  birds 
are,  when  in  season,  in  great  plenty  on  the  South  Downs  round 
Lewes,  yet  at  East  Bourn,  which  is  the  eastern  extremity  of 
those  downs,  they  abound  much  more.  One  thing  is  very 
remarkable,  that  though  in  the  height  of  the  season  so  many 
hundreds  of  dozens  are  taken,  yet  they  never  are  seen  to 
flock ;  and  it  is  a  rare  thing  to  see  more  than  three  or  four  at 
a  time  ;  so  that  there  must  be  a  perpetual  flitting  and  constant 
progressive  succession.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  wheat- 
ears  are  taken  to  the  westward  of  Houghton  Bridge,  which 
stands  on  the  river  Arun. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  137 

I  did  not  fail  to  look  particularly  after  my  new  migration  of 
ring-ousels  ;  and  to  take  notice  whether  they  continued  on  the 
downs  to  this  season  of  the  year ;  as  I  had  formerly  remarked 
them  in  the  month  of  October  all  the  way  from  Chichester  to 
Lewes  wherever  there  were  any  shrubs  and  covert :  but  not 
one  bird  of  this  sort  came  within  my  observation.  1  only  saw 
a  few  larks  and  whin-chats,  some  rooks,  and  several  kites  and 
buzzards. 

About  midsummer  a  flight  of  crossbills  comes  to  the  pine 
groves  about  this  house,  but  never  makes  any  long  stay. 

The  old  tortoise,  that  I  have  mentioned  in  a  former  letter, 
still  continues  in  this  garden  ;  and  retired  under  ground  about 
the  20th  November,  and  came  out  again  for  one  day  on  the 
30th  :  it  lies  now  buried  in  a  wet  swampy  border  under  a  wall 
facing  to  the  south,  and  is  enveloped  at  present  in  mud  and 
mire ! 

Here  is  a  large  rookery  round  this  house,  the  inhabitants  of 
which  seem  to  get  their  livelihood  very  easily ;  for  they  spend 
the  greatest  part  of  the  day  on  their  nest-trees  when  the  weather 
is  mild.  These  rooks  retire  every  evening  all  the  winter  from 
this  rookery,  where  they  only  call  by  the  way,  as  they  are 
going  to  roost  in  deep  woods  :  at  the  dawn  of  day  they  always 
revisit  their  nest-trees,  and  are  preceded  a  few  minutes  by  a 
flight  of  daws,  that  act,  as  it  were,  as  their  harbingers. 

I  am,  etc. 


LETTER   XVIII 

Selborne, /<««.  29M,  1774. 

Dear  Sir,  —  The  house-swallow,  or  chimney-swallow,  is  un- 
doubtedly the  first  comer  of  all  the  British  hirundines ;  and 
appears  in  general  on  or  about  13th  April,  as  I  have  remarked 
from  many  years'  observation.  Not  but  now  and  then  a  strag- 
gler is  seen  much  earlier ;  and,  in  particular,  when  I  was  a 
boy  I  observed  a  swallow  for  a  whole  day  together  on  a  sunny 
warm  Shrove  Tuesday  ;  which  day  could  not  fall  out  later  than 
the  middle  of  March,  and  often  happened  early  in  February. 

It  is  worth  remarking  that  these  birds  are  seen  first  about 


138  WHITE 

lakes  and  mill-ponds ;  and  it  is  also  very  particular,  that  if 
these  early  visitors  happen  to  find  frost  and  snow,  as  was  the 
case  of  the  two  dreadful  springs  of  1770  and  1771,  they  im- 
mediately withdraw  for  a  time.  A  circumstance  this  much 
more  in  favor  of  hiding  than  migration  ;  since  it  is  much  more 
probable  that  a  bird  should  retire  to  its  hybernaculum  just  at 
hand,  than  return  for  a  week  or  two  to  warmer  latitudes. 

The  swallow,  though  called  the  chimney-swallow,  by  no 
means  builds  altogether  in  chimneys,  but  often  within  barns 
and  out-houses  against  the  rafters;  and  so  she  did  in  Virgil's 
time :  — 

....     "Ante 

Garrula  quam  tignis  nidum  suspendit  hirundo." 

In  Sweden  she  builds  in  barns,  and  is  called  ladit  swala,  the 
barn-swallow.  Besides,  in  the  warmer  parts  of  Europe  there 
are  no  chimneys  to  houses,  except  they  are  English-built :  in 
these  countries  she  constructs  her  nest  in  porches,  and  gate- 
ways, and  galleries,  and  open  halls. 

Here  and  there  a  bird  may  affect  some  odd,  peculiar  place ; 
as  we  have  known  a  swallow  build  down  the  shaft  of  an  old 
well,  through  which  chalk  had  been  formerly  drawn  up  for 
the  purpose  of  manure :  but  in  general  with  us  this  hiriutdo 
breeds  in  chimneys ;  and  loves  to  haunt  those  stacks  where 
there  is  a  constant  fire,  no  doubt  for  the  sake  of  warmth.  Not 
that  it  can  subsist  in  the  immediate  shaft  where  there  is  a  fire ; 
but  prefers  one  adjoining  to  that  of  the  kitchen,  and  disregards 
the  perpetual  smoke  of  that  funnel,  as  I  have  often  observed 
with  some  degree  of  wonder. 

Five  or  six  or  more  feet  down  the  chimney  does  this  little  bird 
begin  to  form  her  nest  about  the  middle  of  May,  which  consists, 
like  that  of  the  house-martin,  of  a  crust  or  shell  composed  of 
dirt  or  mud,  mixed  with  short  pieces  of  straw  to  render  it  tough 
and  permanent ;  with  this  difference,  that  whereas  the  shell  of 
the  martin  is  nearly  hemispheric,  that  of  the  swallow  is  open  at 
the  top,  and  like  half  a  deep  dish  :  this  nest  is  lined  with  fine 
grasses  and  feathers,  which  are  often  collected  as  they  float 
in  the  air. 

Wonderful  is  the  address  which  this  adroit  bird  shows  all 


NATURAL   HISTORY  OF   SELBORNE  1 39 

day  long  in  ascending  and  descending  with  security  through 
so  narrow  a  pass.  When  hovering  over  the  mouth  of  the 
funnel,  the  vibrations  of  her  wings  acting  on  the  confined  air 
occasion  a  rumbling  like  thunder.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
the  dam  submits  to  this  inconvenient  situation  so  low  in  the 
shaft,  in  order  to  secure  her  broods  from  rapacious  birds,  and 
particularly  from  owls,  which  frequently  fall  down  chimneys, 
perhaps  in  attempting  to  get  at  these  nestlings. 

The  swallow  lays  from  four  to  six  white  eggs,  dotted  with 
red  specks ;  and  brings  out  her  first  brood  about  the  last  week 
in  June,  or  the  first  week  in  July.  The  progressive  method 
by  which  the  young  are  introduced  into  life  is  very  amusing : 
first,  they  emerge  from  the  shaft  with  difficulty  enough,  and 
often  fall  down  into  the  rooms  below :  for  a  day  or  so  they  are 
fed  on  the  chimney-top,  and  then  are  conducted  to  the  dead 
leafless  bough  of  some  tree,  where,  sitting  in  a  row,  they  are 
attended  with  great  assiduity,  and  may  then  be  called  perchers. 
In  a  day  or  two  more  they  become yTjvrj,  but  are  still  unable 
to  take  their  own  food ;  therefore  they  play  about  near  the 
place  where  the  dams  are  hawking  for  flies ;  and,  when  a 
mouthful  is  collected,  at  a  certain  signal  given,  the  dam  and 
the  nestling  advance,  rising  towards  each  other,  and  meeting 
at  an  angle ;  the  young  one  all  the  while  uttering  suoh  a  little 
quick  note  of  gratitude  and  complacency,  that  a  person  must 
have  paid  very  little  regard  to  the  wonders  of  nature  that  has 
not  often  remarked  this  feat. 

The  dam  betakes  herself  immediately  to  the  business  of  a 
second  brood  as  soon  as  she  is  disengaged  from  her  first;  which 
at  once  associates  with  the  first  broods  of  house-martins ;  and 
with  them  congregates,  clustering  on  sunny  roofs,  towers,  and 
trees.  This  hirundo  brings  out  her  second  brood  towards  the 
middle  and  end  of  August. 

All  the  summer  long  is  the  swallow  a  most  instructive  pattern 
of  unwearied  industry  and  affection ;  for,  from  morning  to 
night,  while  there  is  a  family  to  be  supported,  she  spends  the 
whole  day  in  skimming  close  to  the  ground,  and  executing  the 
most  sudden  turns  and  quick  evolutions.  Avenues,  and  long 
walks  under  hedges,  and  pasture-fields,  and  mown  meadows 
where  cattle  graze,  are  her  delight,  especially  if  there  are  trees 


140  WHITE 

interspersed;  because  in  such  spots  insects  most  abound. 
When  a  fly  is  taken  a  smart  snap  from  her  bill  is  heard, 
resembling  the  noise  at  the  shutting  of  a  watch-case;  but 
the  motion  of  the  mandibles  is  too  quick  for  the  eye. 

The  swallow,  probably  the  male  bird,  is  the  exaibitorXo  house- 
martins,  and  other  little  birds,  announcing  the  approach  of 
birds  of  prey.  For  as  soon  as  a  hawk  appears,  with  a  shrill 
alarming  note  he  calls  all  the  swallows  and  martins  about  him ; 
who  pursue  in  a  body,  and  buffet  and  strike  their  enemy  till 
they  have  driven  him  from  the  village,  darting  down  from  above 
on  his  back,  and  rising  in  a  perpendicular  line  in  perfect  secur- 
ity. This  bird  also  will  sound  the  alarm,  and  strike  at  cats 
when  they  climb  on  the  roofs  of  houses,  or  otherwise  approach 
the  nests.  Each  species  of  hirundo  drinks  as  it  flies  along, 
sipping  the  surface  of  the  water;  but  the  swallow  alone  in 
general  washes  on  the  wing,  by  dropping  into  a  pool  for  many 
times  together:  in  very  hot  weather  house-martins  and  bank- 
martins  dip  and  wash  a  little. 

The  swallow  is  a  delicate  songster,  and  in  soft  sunny  weather 
sings  both  perching  and  flying;  on  trees  in  a  kind  of  concert, 
and  on  chimney-tops :  is  also  a  bold  flyer,  ranging  to  distant 
downs  and  commons  even  in  windy  weather,  which  the  other 
species  seem  much  to  dislike ;  nay,  even  frequenting  exposed 
seaport  towns,  and  making  little  excursions  over  the  salt 
water.  Horsemen  on  wide  downs  are  often  closely  attended 
by  a  little  party  of  swallows  for  miles  together,  which  plays 
before  and  behind  them,  sweeping  around  them,  and  collect- 
ing all  the  skulking  insects  that  are  roused  by  the  trampling 
of  the  horses'  feet :  when  the  wind  blows  hard,  without  this 
expedient,  they  are  often  forced  to  settle  to  pick  up  their  lurk- 
ing prey. 

This  species  feeds  much  on  little  Coleoptera,  as  well  as  on 
gnats  and  flies ;  and  often  settles  on  dug  ground,  or  paths,  for 
gravels  to  grind  and  digest  its  food.  Before  they  depart,  for 
some  weeks,  to  a  bird  they  forsake  houses  and  chimneys  and 
roost  in  trees ;  and  usually  withdraw  about  the  beginning  of 
October ;  though  some  few  stragglers  may  appear  on  at  times 
till  the  first  week  in  November. 

Some  few  pairs  haunt  the  new  and  open  streets  of  London 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  141 

next  the  fields,  but  do  not  enter,  like  the  house-martin,  the 
close  and  crowded  parts  of  the  city. 

Both  male  and  female  are  distinguished  from  their  conge- 
ners by  the  length  and  forkedness  of  their  tails.  They  are 
undoubtedly  the  most  nimble  of  all  the  species :  and  when 
the  male  pursues  the  female  in  amorous  chase,  they  then  go 
beyond  their  usual  speed,  and  exert  a  rapidity  almost  too 
quick  for  the  eye  to  follow. 

After  this  circumstantial  detail  of  the  life  and  discerning 
(xrop'yr}  of  the  swallow,  I  shall  add,  for  your  farther  amuse- 
ment, an  anecdote  or  two  not  much  in  favor  of  her  sagacity  :  — 

A  certain  swallow  built  for  two  years  together  on  the 
handles  of  a  pair  of  garden-shears  that  were  stuck  up  against 
the  boards  in  an  out-house,  and  therefore  must  have  her  nest 
spoiled  whenever  that  implement  was  wanted :  and,  what  is 
stranger  still,  another  bird  of  the  same  species  built  its  nest 
on  the  wings  and  body  of  an  owl  that  happened  by  accident 
to  hang  dead  and  dry  from  the  rafter  of  a  barn.  This  owl, 
with  the  nest  on  its  wings,  and  the  eggs  in  the  nest,  was  brought 
as  a  curiosity  worthy  the  most  elegant  private  museum  in  Great 
Britain.  The  owner,  struck  with  the  oddity  of  the  sight,  fur- 
nished the  bringer  with  a  large  shell,  or  conch,  desiring  him 
to  fix  it  just  where  the  owl  hung :  the  person  did  as  he  was 
ordered,  and  the  following  year  a  pair,  probably  the  same  pair, 
built  their  nests  in  the  conch,  and  laid  their  eggs. 

The  owl  and  the  conch  make  a  strange,  grotesque  appear- 
ance, and  not  the  least  curious  specimens  in  that  wonderful 
collection  of  art  and  nature. 

Thus  is  instinct  in  animals,  taken  the  least  out  of  its  way, 
an  undistinguishing,  limited  faculty ;  and  blind  to  every  cir- 
cumstance that  does  not  immediately  respect  self-preservation, 
or  lead  at  once  to  the  propagation  or  support  of  their  species. 

I  am,  with  all  respect,  etc.,  etc. 


142  WHITE 


LETTER   XIX 


Selborne, />^.  14///,  1774. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  received  your  favor  of  the  8th,  and  am  pleased 
to  find  that  you  read  my  little  history  of  the  swallow  with  your 
usual  candor  :  nor  was  I  the  less  pleased  to  find  that  you  made 
objections  where  you  saw  reason. 

As  to  the  quotations,  it  is  difficult  to  say  precisely  what 
species  of  hirundo  Virgil  might  intend  in  the  lines  in  question, 
since  the  ancients  did  not  attend  to  specific  differences  like 
modern  naturalists :  yet  somewhat  may  be  gathered,  enough 
to  incline  me  to  suppose  that  in  the  two  passages  quoted  the 
poet  had  his  eye  on  the  swallow. 

In  the  first  place  the  epithet  ^rtrr;//«  suits  the  swallow  well, 
who  is  a  great  songster,  and  not  the  martin,  which  is  rather  a 
mute  bird ;  and  when  it  sings  is  so  inward  as  scarce  to  be  heard. 
Besides,  if  tigmim  in  that  place  signifies  a  rafter  rather  than 
a  beam,  as  it  seems  to  me  to  do,  then  I  think  it  must  be  the 
swallow  that  is  alluded  to,  and  not  the  martin,  since  the  former 
does  frequently  build  within  the  roof  against  the  rafters  ;  while 
the  latter  always,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  observe,  builds 
without  the  roof  against  eaves  and  cornices. 

As  to  the  simile,  too  much  stress  must  not  be  laid  on  it ; 
yet  the  epithet  nig7-a  speaks  plainly  in  favor  of  the  swallow, 
whose  back  and  wings  are  very  black  ;  while  the  rump  of  the 
martin  is  milk-white,  its  back  and  wings  blue,  and  all  its  under 
part  white  as  snow.  Nor  can  the  clumsy  motions  (compara- 
tively clumsy)  of  the  martin  well  represent  the  sudden  and 
artful  evolutions  and  quick  turns  which  Juturna  gave  to  her 
brother's  chariot,  so  as  to  elude  the  eager  pursuit  of  the  en- 
raged ^neas.  The  verb  sojiat  also  seems  to  imply  a  bird 
that  is  somewhat  loquacious.^ 

We  have  had  a  very  wet  autumn  and  winter,  so  as  to  raise 
the  springs  to  a  pitch  beyond  anything  since  1764  ;  which  was 
a  remarkable  year  for  floods  and  high  waters.  The  land-springs 
which  we  call  lavants,  break  out  much  on  the  downs  of  Sus- 
sex, Hampshire,  and  Wiltshire.  The  country-people  say  when 
the  lavants  rise  corn  will  always  be  dear ;  meaning  that  when 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  I43 

the  earth  is  so  glutted  with  water  as  to  send  forth  springs  on  the 
downs  and  uplands,  that  the  corn-vales  must  be  drowned  ;  and 
so  it  has  proved  for  these  ten  or  eleven  years  past.  For  land- 
springs  have  never  obtained  more  since  the  memory  of  man 
than  during  that  period ;  nor  has  there  been  known  a  greater 
scarcity  of  all  sorts  of  grain,  considering  the  great  improve- 
ments of  modern  husbandry.  Such  a  run  of  wet  seasons  a 
century  or  two  ago  would,  I  am  persuaded,  have  occasioned 
a  famine.  Therefore  pamphlets  and  newspaper  letters,  that 
talk  of  combinations,  tend  to  inflame  and  mislead ;  since  we 
must  not  expect  plenty  till  Providence  sends  us  more  favor- 
able seasons. 

The  wheat  of  last  year,  all  round  this  district,  and  in  the 
county  of  Rutland,  and  elsewhere,  yields  remarkably  bad  ;  and 
our  wheat  on  the  ground,  by  the  continual  late  sudden  vicissi- 
tudes from  fierce  frost  to  pouring  rains,  looks  poorly ;  and  the 
turnips  rot  very  fast. 

Note  ^  ^^  ^^^• 

^  "  Nigra  velut  magnas  domini  cum  divitis  aedes 
Pervolat,  et  pennis  alta  atria  lustrat  hirundo, 
Pabula  parva  legens,  nidisque  loquacibus  escas  : 
Et  nunc  porticibus  vacuis,  nunc  humida  circum 


Stagna  sonat.^'' 


''  As  the  black  swallow  near  the  palace  plies : 
O'er  empty  courts,  and  under  arches  flies  ; 
Now  hawks  aloft,  now  skims  along  the  flood, 
To  furnish  her  loquacious  nests  with  food." 

Dryd.  Virg.  ^n.  xii.  1.  691.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XX 

Selborne,  Fed.  26///,  1774. 

Dear  Sir,  —  The  sand-martin,  or  bank-martin,  is  by  much 
the  least  of  any  of  the  British  hirundines  ;  and  as  far  as  we  have 
ever  seen,  the  smallest  known  hirundo  ;  though  Brisson  asserts 
that  there  is  one  much  smaller,  and  that  is  the  hirundo  esadcnta. 

But  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  it  is  scarce  possible  for  any 
observer  to  be  so  full  and  exact  as  he  could  wish  in  reciting  the 


144  WHITE 

circumstances  attending  the  life  and  conversation  of  this  little 
bird,  since  it  isfera  itaturd,  at  least  in  this  part  of  the  kingdom, 
disclaiming  all  domestic  attachments,  and  haunting  wild  heaths 
and  commons  where  there  are  large  lakes  ;  while  the  other  spe- 
cies, especially  the  swallow  and  house-martin,  are  remarkably 
gentle  and  domesticated,  and  never  seem  to  think  themselves 
safe  but  under  the  protection  of  man. 

Here  are  in  this  parish,  in  the  sand-pits  and  banks  of  the 
lakes  of  Wolmer  Forest,  several  colonies  of  these  birds ;  and 
yet  they  are  never  seen  in  the  village ;  nor  do  they  at  all  fre- 
quent the  cottages  that  are  scattered  about  in  that  wild  district. 
The  only  instance  I  ever  remember  where  this  species  haunts 
any  building  is  at  the  town  of  Bishop's  Waltham,  in  this  county, 
where  many  sand-martins  nestle  and  breed  in  the  scaffold  holes 
of  the  back-wall  of  William  of  Wykeham's  stables ;  but  then 
this  wall  stands  in  a  very  sequestered  and  retired  enclosure, 
and  faces  upon  a  large  and  beautiful  lake.  And  indeed  this 
species  seems  so  to  delight  in  large  waters,  that  no  instance 
occurs  of  their  abounding,  but  near  vast  pools  or  rivers ;  and 
in  particular  it  has  been  remarked  that  they  swarm  in  the 
banks  of  the  Thames  in  some  places  below  London  bridge. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  with  what  different  degrees  of  archi- 
tectonic skill  Providence  has  endowed  birds  of  the  same  genus, 
and  so  nearly  correspondent  in  their  general  mode  of  life  !  For 
while  the  swallow  and  the  house-martin  discover  the  greatest 
address  in  raising  and  securely  fixing  crusts  or  shells  of  loam  as 
cunabula  for  their  young,  the  bank-martin  terebrates  a  round 
and  regular  hole  in  the  sand  or  earth,  which  is  serpentine, 
horizontal,  and  about  two  feet  deep.  At  the  inner  end  of  this 
burrow  does  this  bird  deposit,  in  a  good  degree  of  safety,  her 
rude  nest,  consisting  of  fine  grasses  and  feathers,  usually  goose- 
feathers,  very  inartificially  laid  together. 

Perseverance  will  accomplish  anything;  though  at  first  one 
would  be  disinclined  to  believe  that  this  weak  bird,  with  her 
soft  and  tender  bill  and  claws,  should  ever  be  able  to  bore  the 
stubborn  sand-bank  without  entirely  disabling  herself ;  yet  with 
these  feeble  instruments  have  I  seen  a  pair  of  them  make  great 
despatch,  and  could  remark  how  much  they  had  scooped  that 
day  by  the  fresh  sand  which  ran  down  the  bank,  and  was  of 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  145 

a  different  color  from  that  which  lay  loose  and  bleached  in 
the  sun. 

In  what  space  of  time  these  little  artists  are  able  to  mine  and 
finish  these  cavities  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover,  for  rea- 
sons given  above  ;  but  it  would  be  a  matter  worthy  of  obser- 
vation, where  it  falls  in  the  way  of  any  naturalist  to  make  his 
remarks.  This  I  have  often  taken  notice  of,  that  several  holes 
of  different  depths  are  left  unfinished  at  the  end  of  summer. 
To  imagine  that  these  beginnings  were  intentionally  made  in 
order  to  be  in  the  greater  forwardness  for  next  spring  is  allow- 
ing perhaps  too  much  foresight  and  rermn  prudentia  to  a 
simple  bird.  May  not  the  cause  of  these  latebrce  being  left 
unfinished  arise  from  their  meeting  in  those  places  with  strata 
too  harsh,  hard,  and  solid  for  their  purpose,  which  they  re- 
linquish, and  go  to  a  fresh  spot  that  works  more  freely  .-'  Or 
may  they  not  in  other  places  fall  in  with  a  soil  as  much  too 
loose  and  mouldering,  liable  to  flounder,  and  threatening  to 
overwhelm  them  and  their  labors  } 

One  thing  is  remarkable  —  that,  after  some  years,  the  old 
holes  are  forsaken  and  new  ones  bored ;  perhaps  because  the 
old  habitations  grow  foul  and  fetid  from  long  use,  or  because 
they  may  so  abound  with  fleas  as  to  become  untenantable. 
This  species  of  swallow  moreover  is  strangely  annoyed  with 
fleas  ;  and  we  have  seen  fleas,  bed-fleas  {pidex  irritans),  swarm- 
ing at  the  mouths  of  these  holes,  like  bees  on  the  stools  of  their 
hives. ^ 

The  following  circumstance  should  by  no  means  be  omitted 
— that  these  birds  do  not  make  use  of  their  caverns  by  way  of 
hybernacula,  as  might  be  expected  ;  since  banks  so  perforated 
have  been  dug  out  with  care  in  the  winter,  when  nothing  was 
found  but  empty  nests. 

The  sand-martin  arrives  much  about  the  same  time  with  the 
swallow,  and  lays,  as  she  does,  from  four  to  six  white  eggs. 
But  as  this  species  is  cryptogame,  carrying  on  the  business  of 
nidification,  incubation,  and  the  support  of  its  young  in  the 
dark,  it  would  not  be  so  easy  to  ascertain  the  time  of  breeding, 
were  it  not  for  the  coming  forth  of  the  broods,  which  appear 
much  about  the  time,  or  rather  somewhat  earlier  than  those  of 
the  swallow.  The  nestlings  are  supported  in  common  like 
II 


146  WHITE 

those  of  their  congeners,  with  gnats  and  other  small  insects ; 
and  sometimes  they  are  fed  with  libelhdcE  (dragon-flies)  almost 
as  long  as  themselves.  In  the  last  week  in  June  we  have  seen 
a  row  of  these  sitting  on  a  rail  near  a  great  pool  as  perchers, 
and  so  young  and  helpless,  as  easily  to  be  taken  by  hand ;  but 
whether  the  dams  ever  feed  them  on  the  wing,  as  swallows  and 
house-martins  do,  we  have  never  yet  been  able  to  determine ; 
nor  do  we  know  whether  they  pursue  and  attack  birds  of  prey. 

When  they  happen  to  breed  near  hedges  and  enclosures,  they 
are  dispossessed  of  their  breeding  holes  by  the  house-sparrow, 
which  is  on  the  same  account  a  fell  adversary  to  house-martins. 

These  hirundines  are  no  songsters,  but  rather  mute,  making 
only  a  little  harsh  noise  when  a  person  approaches  their  nests. 
They  seem  not  to  be  of  a  sociable  turn,  never  with  us  con- 
gregating with  their  congeners  in  the  autumn.  Undoubtedly 
they  breed  a  second  time,  like  the  house-martin  and  swallow ; 
and  withdraw  about  Michaelmas. 

Though  in  some  particular  districts  they  may  happen  to 
abound,  yet  in  the  whole,  in  the  south  of  England  at  least,  is 
this  much  the  rarest  species.  For  there  are  few  towns  or  large 
villages  but  what  abound  with  house-martins ;  few  churches, 
towers,  or  steeples,  but  what  are  haunted  by  some  swifts ; 
scarce  a  hamlet  or  single  cottage-chimney  that  has  not  its 
swallow;  while  the  bank-martins,  scattered  here  and  there, 
live  a  sequestered  life  among  some  abrupt  sand-hills,  and  in 
the  banks  of  some  few  rivers. 

These  birds  have  a  peculiar  manner  of  flying ;  flitting  about 
with  odd  jerks  and  vacillations,  not  unlike  the  motions  of  a 
butterfly.  Doubtless  the  flight  of  all  hirundines  is  influenced 
by,  and  adapted  to,  the  peculiar  sort  of  insects  which  furnish 
their  food.  Hence  it  would  be  worth  inquiry  to  examine  what 
particular  genus  of  insects  affords  the  principal  food  of  each 
respective  species  of  swallow. 

Notwithstanding  what  has  been  advanced  above,  some  few 
sand-martins,  I  see,  haunt  the  skirts  of  London,  frequenting 
the  dirty  pools  in  Saint  George's  Fields,  and  about  White- 
chapel.  The  question  is  where  these  build,  since  there  are 
no  banks  or  bold  shores  in  that  neighborhood :  perhaps  they 
nestle  in  the  scaffold  holes  of  some  old  or  new  deserted  build- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  147 

ing.     They  dip  and  wash  as  they  fly  sometimes,  like  the  house- 
martin  and  swallow. 

Sand-martins  differ  from  their  congeners  in  the  diminutive- 
ness  of  their  size,  and  in  their  color,  which  is  what  is  usually 
called  a  mouse-color.  Near  Valencia,  in  Spain,  they  are  taken, 
says  Willughby,  and  sold  in  the  markets  for  the  table ;  and 
are  called  by  the  country-people,  probably  from  their  desul- 
tory jerking  manner  of  flight,  Papilion  de  Montagna. 

Note 

1  This  insect  is  not  the  bed-flea,  but  another,  distinct  also  from  those 
which  trouble  the  swallow  and  the  swift.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER  XXI 

Selborne,  Sept.  2?>th,  1774. 

Dear  Sir,  —  As  the  swift  or  black-martin  is  the  largest  of 
the  British  hirimdines,  so  it  is  undoubtedly  the  latest  comer. 
For  I  remember  but  one  instance  of  its  appearing  before  the 
last  week  in  April ;  and  in  some  of  our  late  frosty,  harsh 
springs,  it  has  not  been  seen  till  the  beginning  of  May.  This 
species  usually  arrives  in  pairs. 

The  swift,  like  the  sand-martin,  is  very  defective  in  archi- 
tecture, making  no  crust,  or  shell,  for  its  nest ;  but  forming  it 
of  dry  grasses  and  feathers,  very  rudely  and  inartificially  put 
together.  With  all  my  attention  to  these  birds,  I  have  never 
been  able  once  to  discover  one  in  the  act  of  collecting  or  carry- 
ing in  materials ;  so  that  I  have  suspected  (since  their  nests 
are  exactly  the  same)  that  they  sometimes  usurp  upon  the 
house-sparrows,  and  expel  them,  as  sparrows  do  the  house  and 
sand  martin  ;  well  remembering  that  I  have  seen  them  squab- 
bling together  at  the  entrance  of  their  holes,  and  the  sparrows 
up  in  arms,  and  much  disconcerted  at  these  intruders.  And 
yet  I  am  assured,  by  a  nice  observer  in  such  matters,  that 
they  do  collect  feathers  for  their  nests  in  Andalusia,  and  that 
he  has  shot  them  with  such  materials  in  their  mouths. 

Swifts,  like  sand-martins,  carry  on  the  business  of  nidifica- 


148  WHITE 

tion  quite  in  the  dark,  in  crannies  of  castles,  and  towers,  and 
steeples,  and  upon  the  tops  of  the  walls  of  churches  under  the 
roof ;  and  therefore  cannot  be  so  narrowly  watched  as  those 
species  that  build  more  openly ;  but,  from  what  I  could  ever 
observe,  they  begin  nesting  about  the  middle  of  May ;  and  I 
have  remarked,  from  eggs  taken,  that  they  have  sat  hard  by 
the  9th  June.  In  general  they  haunt  tall  buildings,  churches, 
and  steeples,  and  breed  only  in  such ;  yet  in  this  village  some 
pairs  frequent  the  lowest  and  meanest  cottages,  and  educate 
their  young  under  those  thatched  roofs.  We  remember  but 
one  instance  where  they  breed  out  of  buildings,  and  that  is  in 
the  sides  of  a  deep  chalk-pit  near  the  town  of  Odiham,  in  this 
county,  where  we  have  seen  many  pairs  entering  the  crevices, 
and  skimming  and  squeaking  round  the  precipices. 

As  I  have  regarded  these  amusive  birds  with  no  small  atten- 
tion, if  I  should  advance  something  new  and  peculiar  with 
respect  to  them,  and  different  from  all  other  birds,  I  might 
perhaps  be  credited ;  especially  as  my  assertion  is  the  result 
of  many  years'  exact  observation.  The  fact  that  I  would  ad- 
vance is,  that  swifts  tread,  or  copulate,  on  the  wing ;  and  I 
would  wish  any  nice  observer,  that  is  startled  at  this  supposi- 
tion, to  use  his  own  eyes,  and  I  think  he  will  soon  be  con- 
vinced. In  another  class  of  animals,  viz.,  the  insect,  nothing 
is  so  common  as  to  see  the  different  species  of  many  genera 
in  conjunction  as  they  fly.  The  swift  is  almost  continually  on 
the  wing ;  and  as  it  never  settles  on  the  ground,  on  trees,  or 
roofs,  would  seldom  find  opportunity  for  amorous  rites,  was  it 
not  enabled  to  indulge  them  in  the  air.  If  any  person  would 
watch  these  birds  of  a  fine  morning  in  May,  as  they  are  sailing 
round  at  a  great  height  from  the  ground,  he  would  see,  every 
now  and  then,  one  drop  on  the  back  of  another,  and  both  of 
them  sink  down  together  for  many  fathoms  with  a  loud  pierc- 
ing shriek.  This  I  take  to  be  the  juncture  when  the  business 
of  generation  is  carrying  on. 

As  the  swift  eats,  drinks,  collects  materials  for  its  nest,  and, 
as  it  seems,  propagates  on  the  wing,  it  appears  to  live  more 
in  the  air  than  any  other  bird,  and  to  perform  all  functions 
there  save  those  of  sleeping  and  incubation. 

This  hirundo  differs  widely  from  its  congeners  in  laying  in- 


NATURAL  HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  149 

variably  but  two  eggs  at  a  time,  which  are  milk-white,  long,  and 
peaked  at  the  small  end ;  whereas  the  other  species  lay  at  each 
brood  from  four  to  six.  It  is  a  most  alert  bird,  rising  very  early, 
and  retiring  to  roost  very  late ;  and  is  on  the  wing  in  the  height 
of  summer  at  least  sixteen  hours.  In  the  longest  days  it  does 
not  withdraw  to  rest  till  a  quarter  before  nine  in  the  evening, 
being  the  latest  of  all  day  birds.  Just  before  they  retire  whole 
groups  of  them  assemble  high  in  the  air,  and  squeak,  and  shoot 
about  with  wonderful  rapidity.  But  this  bird  is  never  so  much 
alive  as  in  sultry  thundery  weather,  when  it  expresses  great 
alacrity,  and  calls  forth  all  its  powers.  In  hot  mornings  sev- 
eral, getting  together  in  little  parties,  dash  round  the  steeples 
and  churches,  squeaking  as  they  go  in  a  very  clamorous  man- 
ner ;  these,  by  nice  observers,  are  supposed  to  be  males  sere- 
nading their  sitting  hens ;  and  not  without  reason,  since  they 
seldom  squeak  till  they  come  close  to  the  walls  or  eaves,  and 
since  those  within  utter  at  the  same  time  a  little  inward  note 
of  complacency. 

When  the  hen  has  sat  hard  all  day,  she  rushes  forth  just  as 
it  is  almost  dark,  and  stretches  and  relieves  her  weary  limbs, 
and  snatches  a  scanty  meal  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  re- 
turns to  her  duty  of  incubation.  Swifts,  when  wantonly  and 
cruelly  shot  while  they  have  young,  discover  a  little  lump  of 
insects  in  their  mouths,  which  they  pouch  and  hold  under 
their  tongue.  In  general  they  feed  in  a  much  higher  district 
than  the  other  species ;  a  proof  that  gnats  and  other  insects 
do  also  abound  to  a  considerable  height  in  the  air ;  they  also 
range  to  vast  distances,  since  locomotion  is  no  labor  to  them 
who  are  endowed  with  such  wonderful  powers  of  wing.  Their 
powers  seem  to  be  in  proportion  to  their  levers ;  and  their 
wings  are  longer  in  proportion  than  those  of  almost  any  other 
bird.  When  they  mute,  or  ease  themselves  in  flight,  they 
raise  their  wings  and  make  them  meet  over  their  backs. 

At  some  certain  times  in  the  summer  I  had  remarked  that 
swifts  were  hawking  very  low  for  hours  together  over  pools 
and  streams;  and  could  not  help  inquiring  into  the  object 
of  their  pursuit  that  induced  them  to  descend  so  much  below 
their  usual  range.  After  some  trouble,  I  found  that  they  were 
taking  phryganecs,  ephemercs,  and  libcllidce  (cadew-flies,  may- 


I50  WHITE 

flies,  and  dragon-flies),  that  were  just  emerged  out  of  their 
aurelia  state.  I  then  no  longer  wondered  that  they  should  be 
so  willing  to  stoop  for  a  prey  that  afforded  them  such  plentiful 
and  succulent  nourishment. 

They  bring  out  their  young  about  the  middle  or  latter  end  of 
July ;  but  as  these  never  become  perchers,  nor,  that  ever  I  could 
discern,  are  fed  on  the  wing  by  their  dams,  the  coming  forth 
of  the  young  is  not  so  notorious  as  in  the  other  species. 

On  the  30th  of  last  June,  I  untiled  the  eaves  of  a  house 
where  many  pairs  build,  and  found  in  each  nest  only  two 
squab,  naked  piUli ;  on  the  8th  July  I  repeated  the  same 
inquiry,  and  found  that  they  had  made  very  little  progress 
towards  a  fledged  state,  but  were  still  naked  and  helpless. 
From  whence  we  may  conclude  that  birds  whose  way  of  life 
keeps  them  perpetually  on  the  wing  would  not  be  able  to  quit 
their  nest  till  the  end  of  the  month.  Swallows  and  martins, 
that  have  numerous  families,  are  continually  feeding  them 
every  two  or  three  minutes ;  while  swifts,  that  have  but  two 
young  to  maintain,  are  much  at  their  leisure  and  do  not  attend 
on  their  nest  for  hours  together. 

Sometimes  they  pursue  and  strike  at  hawks  that  come  in 
their  way;  but  not  with  that  vehemence  and  fury  that  swal- 
lows express  on  the  same  occasion.  They  are  out  all  day  long 
in  wet  days,  feeding  about,  and  disregarding  still  rain :  from 
whence  two  things  may  be  gathered  :  first,  that  many  insects 
abide  high  in  the  air,  even  in  rain  ;  and  next,  that  the  feath- 
ers of  these  birds  must  be  well  preened  to  resist  so  much  wet. 
Windy  weather,  and  particularly  windy  weather  with  heavy 
showers,  they  dislike ;  and  on  such  days  withdraw,  and  are 
scarce  ever  seen. 

There  is  a  circumstance  respecting  the  color  of  swifts,  which 
seems  not  to  be  unworthy  of  our  attention.  When  they  arrive 
in  the  spring,  they  are  all  over  of  a  glossy,  dark  soot-color, 
except  their  chins,  which  are  white ;  but,  by  being  all  day  long 
in  the  sun  and  air,  they  become  quite  weather-beaten  and 
bleached  before  they  depart,  and  yet  they  return  glossy  again 
in  the  spring.  Now,  if  they  pursue  the  sun  into  lower  lati- 
tudes, as  some  suppose,  in  order  to  enjoy  a  perpetual  summer, 
why  do  they  not  return  bleached  .''     Do  they  not  rather  per- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  151 

haps  retire  to  rest  for  a  season,  and  at  that  juncture  moult 
and  change  their  feathers,  since  all  other  birds  are  known  to 
moult  soon  after  the  season  of  breeding  ? 

Swifts  are  very  anomalous  in  many  particulars,  dissenting 
from  all  their  congeners  not  only  in  the  number  of  their  young, 
but  in  breeding  but  once  in  a  summer ;  whereas  all  the  other 
British  hirundines  breed  invariably  twice.  It  is  past  all  doubt 
that  swifts  can  breed  but  once,  since  they  withdraw  in  a  short 
time  after  the  flight  of  their  young,  and  some  time  before  their 
congeners  bring  out  their  second  broods.  We  may  here  re- 
mark, that,  as  swifts  breed  but  once  in  a  summer,  and  only 
two  at  a  time,  and  the  other  hirundines  twice,  the  latter,  who 
lay  from  four  to  six  eggs,  increase  at  an  average  five  times  as 
fast  as  the  former. 

But  in  nothing  are  swifts  more  singular  than  in  their  early 
retreat.  They  retire,  as  to  the  main  body  of  them,  by  the  loth 
August,  and  sometimes  a  few  days  sooner ;  and  every  strag- 
gler invariably  withdraws  by  the  20th,  while  their  congeners, 
all  of  them,  stay  till  the  beginning  of  October ;  many  of  them 
all  through  that  month,  and  some  occasionally  to  the  begin- 
ning of  November.  This  early  retreat  is  mysterious  and  won- 
derful, since  that  time  is  often  the  sweetest  season  in  the  year. 
But  what  is  more  extraordinary,  they  begin  to  retire  still  earlier 
in  the  most  southerly  parts  of  Andalusia,  where  they  can  be 
in  no  ways  influenced  by  any  defect  of  heat ;  or,  as  one  might 
suppose,  failure  of  food.  Are  they  regulated  in  their  motions 
with  us  by  a  defect  of  food,  or  by  a  propensity  to  moulting,  or 
by  a  disposition  to  rest  after  so  rapid  a  life,  or  by  what  ?  This 
is  one  of  those  incidents  in  natural  history  that  not  only  baffles 
our  searches,  but  almost  eludes  our  guesses ! 

These  hirundines  never  perch  on  trees  or  roofs,  and  so  never 
congregate  with  their  congeners.  They  are  fearless  while 
haunting  their  nesting-places,  and  are  not  to  be  scared  with 
a  gun ;  and  are  often  beaten  down  with  poles  and  cudgels  as 
they  stoop  to  go  under  the  eaves.  Swifts  are  much  infested 
with  those  pests  to  the  genus  called  hippobosccB  himndinis ; 
and  often  wriggle  and  scratch  themselves  in  their  flight  to  get 
rid  of  that  clinging  annoyance. 

Swifts  are  no  songsters,  and  have  only  one  harsh  screaming 


152  WHITE 

note ;  yet  there  are  ears  to  which  it  is  not  displeasing,  from 
an  agreeable  association  of  ideas,  since  that  note  never  occurs 
but  in  the  most  lovely  summer  weather. 

They  never  can  settle  on  the  ground  but  through  accident ; 
and  when  down,  can  hardly  rise,  on  account  of  the  shortness 
of  their  legs  and  the  length  of  their  wings ;  neither  can  they 
walk,  but  only  crawl ;  but  they  have  a  strong  grasp  with  their 
feet,  by  which  they  cling  to  walls.  Their  bodies  being  flat 
they  can  enter  a  very  narrow  crevice ;  and  where  they  cannot 
pass  on  their  bellies  they  will  turn  up  edgewise. 

The  particular  formation  of  the  foot  discriminates  the  swift 
from  all  the  British  hirundines ;  and  indeed  from  all  other 
known  birds,  the  hirimdo  melba,  or  great  white-bellied  swift 
of  Gibraltar,  excepted;  for  it  is  so  disposed  as  to  carry  ''omnes 
quatuor  digitos  anticos  "  —  all  its  four  toes  forward ;  besides,  the 
least  toe,  which  should  be  the  back  toe,  consists  of  one  bone 
alone,  and  the  other  three  only  of  two  apiece,  —  a  construction 
most  rare  and  peculiar,  but  nicely  adapted  to  the  purposes  in 
which  their  feet  are  employed.  This  and  some  peculiarities 
attending  the  nostrils  and  under  mandible  have  induced  a  dis- 
cerning ^  naturalist  to  suppose  that  this  species  might  constitute 
a  genus  per  se. 

In  London  a  party  of  swifts  frequents  the  Tower,  playing 
and  feeding  over  the  river  just  below  the  bridge ;  others  haunt 
some  of  the  churches  of  the  Borough,  next  the  fields,  but  do 
not  venture,  like  the  house-martin,  into  the  close-crowded  part 
of  the  town. 

The  Swedes  have  bestowed  a  very  pertinent  name  on  this 
swallow,  calling  it  "ring  swala,"  from  the  perpetual  rings  or 
circles  that  it  takes  round  the  scene  of  its  nidification. 

Swifts  feed  on  coleoptera,  or  small  beetles  with  hard  cases 
over  their  wings,  as  well  as  on  the  softer  insects ;  but  it  does 
not  appear  how  they  can  procure  gravel  to  grind  their  food, 
as  swallows  do,  since  they  never  settle  on  the  ground.  Young 
ones,  overrun  with  hippobosc(B,  are  sometimes  found,  under 
their  nests,  fallen  to  the  ground ;  the  number  of  vermin  ren- 
dering their  abode  insupportable  any  longer.  They  frequent 
in  this  village  several  abject  cottages ;  yet  a  succession  still 
haunts  the  same  unlikely  roofs,  —  a  good  proof  this  that  the 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  I 53 

same  birds  return  to  the  same  spots.  As  they  must  stoop 
very  low  to  get  up  under  these  humble  eaves,  cats  lie  in  wait, 
and  sometimes  catch  them  on  the  wing. 

On  July  5th,  1775,  I  again  untiled  part  of  a  roof  over  the 
nest  of  a  swift.  The  dam  sat  in  the  nest ;  but  so  strongly  was 
she  affected  by  natural  a-Topyrj  for  her  brood,  which  she  sup- 
posed to  be  in  danger,  that,  regardless  of  her  own  safety,  she 
would  not  stir,  but  lay  sullenly  by  them,  permitting  herself  to 
be  taken  in  hand.  The  squab  young  we  brought  down  and 
placed  on  the  grass-plot,  where  they  tumbled  about,  and  were 
as  helpless  as  a  new-born  child.  While  we  contemplated  their 
naked  bodies,  their  unwieldy  disproportioned  abdomina,  and 
their  heads,  too  heavy  for  their  necks  to  support,  we  could  not 
but  wonder  when  we  reflected  that  these  shiftless  beings  in  a 
little  more  than  a  fortnight  would  be  able  to  dash  through  the 
air  almost  with  the  inconceivable  swiftness  of  a  meteor ;  and 
perhaps  in  their  emigration  must  traverse  vast  continents  and 
oceans  as  distant  as  the  equator.  So  soon  does  nature  advance 
small  birds  to  their  rfkLKia,  or  state  of  perfection;  while  the 
progressive  growth  of  men  and  large  quadrupeds  is  slow  and 

tedious  !  I  am,  etc. 

Note 

*  John  Antony  Scopoli,  M.D.,  of  Carniola.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XXII 

Selborne,  Sept.  13//^,  1774. 

Dear  Sir,  —  By  means  of  a  straight  cottage  chimney  I  had 
an  opportunity  this  summer  of  remarking,  at  my  leisure,  how 
swallows  ascend  and  descend  through  the  shaft ;  but  my 
pleasure  in  contemplating  the  address  with  which  this  feat 
was  performed  to  a  considerable  depth  in  the  chimney  was 
somewhat  interrupted  by  apprehensions  lest  my  eyes  might 
undergo  the  same  fate  with  those  of  Tobit.^ 

Perhaps  it  may  be  some  amusement  to  you  to  hear  at  what 
times  the  different  species  of  hirundines  arrived  this  spring 
in  three  very  distant  counties  of  this  kingdom.     With  us  the 


154  WHITE 

swallow  was  seen  first  on  April  4th,  the  swift  on  April  24th, 
the  bank-martin  on  April  12th,  and  the  house-martin  not  till 
April  30th.  At  South  Zele,  Devonshire,  swallows  did  not 
arrive  till  April  25th,  swifts  in  plenty  on  May  ist,  and  house- 
martins  not  till  the  middle  of  May.  At  Blackburn,  in  Lanca- 
shire, swifts  were  seen  April  28th,  swallows  April  29th,  house- 
martins  May  I  St.  Do  these  different  dates,  in  such  distant 
districts,  prove  anything  for  or  against  migration  .'* 

A  farmer,  near  Weyhill,  fallows  his  land  with  two  teams  of 
asses ;  one  of  which  works  till  noon,  and  the  other  in  the  after- 
noon. When  these  animals  have  done  their  work,  they  are 
penned  all  night,  like  sheep,  on  the  fallow.  In  the  winter  they 
are  confined  and  foddered  in  a  yard,  and  make  plenty  of  dung. 

Linnaeus  says  that  hawks  ^^ paciscuntiir  inducias  acm  avibiis, 
quamdiii  ciicidns  ciiculat ;  "  but  it  appears  to  me,  that  during 
that  period,  many  little  birds  are  taken  and  destroyed  by  birds 
of  prey,  as  may  be  seen  by  their  feathers  left  in  lanes  and 
under  hedges. 

The  missel-thrush  is,  while  breeding,  fierce  and  pugnacious, 
driving  such  birds  as  approach  its  nest  with  great  fury  to  a 
distance.  The  Welsh  call  it  "pen  y  llwyn,"  the  head  or  mas- 
ter of  the  coppice.  He  suffers  no  magpie,  jay,  or  blackbird 
to  enter  the  garden  where  he  haunts ;  and  is,  for  the  time,  a 
good  guard  to  the  new-sown  legumens.  In  general,  he  is  very 
successful  in  the  defence  of  his  family ;  but  once  I  observed 
in  my  garden,  that  several  magpies  came  determined  to  storm 
the  nest  of  a  missel-thrush  :  the  dams  defended  their  mansion 
with  great  vigor,  and  fought  resolutely  pro  aris  et  focis ;  but 
numbers  at  last  prevailed,"  they  tore  the  nest  to  pieces,  and 
swallowed  the  young  alive. 

In  the  season  of  nidification  the  wildest  birds  are  compara- 
tively tame.  Thus  the  ring-dove  breeds  in  my  fields,  though 
they  are  continually  frequented ;  and  the  missel-thrush,  though 
most  shy  and  wild  in  the  autumn  and  winter,  builds  in  my 
garden  close  to  a  walk  where  people  are  passing  all  day  long. 

Wall-fruit  abounds  with  me  this  year ;  but  my  grapes,  that 
used  to  be  forward  and  good,  are  at  present  backward  beyond 
all  precedent :  and  this  is  not  the  worst  of  the  story ;  for  the 
same  ungenial  weather,  the  same  black  cold  solstice,  has  in- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  155 

jured  the  more  necessary  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  discolored 
and  blighted  our  wheat.  The  crop  of  hops  promises  to  be 
very  large. 

Frequent  returns  of  deafness  incommode  me  sadly,  and  half 
disqualify  me  for  a  naturalist ;  for,  when  those  fits  are  upon  me, 
I  lose  all  the  pleasing  notices  and  little  intimations  arising  from 
rural  sounds  ;  and  May  is  to  me  as  silent  and  mute  with  respect 
to  the  notes  of  birds,  etc.,  as  August.  My  eyesight  is,  thank 
God,  quick  and  good  ;  but  with  respect  to  the  other  sense,  I  am, 
at  times,  disabled:  — 

"  And  Wisdom  at  one  entrance  quite  shut  out." 

Note 

1  "  The  same  night  also  I  returned  from  the  burial  and  slept  by  the  wall 
of  my  court-yard,  being  polluted,  and  my  face  was  uncovered. 

"  And  I  knew  not  that  there  were  sparrows  (swallows  ?)  in  the  wall,  and 
mine  eyes  being  open,  the  sparrows  muted  warm  dung  into  mine  eyes,  and  a 
whiteness  came  in  mine  eyes  ;  and  I  went  to  the  physicians,  but  they  helped 
me  not."     Tobit  ii.  10.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XXIII 

Selborne, /««^  8///,  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  —  On  September  21st,  1741,  being  then  on  a  visit, 
and  intent  on  field-diversions,  I  rose  before  daybreak  :  when  I 
came  into  the  enclosures,  I  found  the  stubbles  and  clover- 
grounds  matted  all  over  with  a  thick  coat  of  cobweb,  in  the 
meshes  of  which  a  copious  and  heavy  dew  hung  so  plentifully 
that  the  whole  face  of  the  country  seemed,  as  it  were,  covered 
with  two  or  three  setting-nets  drawn  one  over  another.  When 
the  dogs  attempted  to  hunt,  their  eyes  were  so  blinded  and  hood- 
winked that  they  could  not  proceed,  but  were  obliged  to  lie 
down  and  scrape  the  encumbrances  from  their  faces  with  their 
fore-feet,  so  that,  finding  my  sport  interrupted,  I  returned  home 
musing  in  my  mind  on  the  oddness  of  the  occurrence. 

As  the  morning  advanced  the  sun  became  bright  and  warm, 
and  the  day  turned  out  one  of  those  most  lovely  ones  which  no 
season  but  the  autumn  produces,  —  cloudless,  calm,  serene, 
and  worthy  of  the  south  of  France  itself. 


156  WHITE 

About  nine  an  appearance  very  unusual  began  to  demand 
our  attention,  a  shower  of  cobwebs  falling  from  very  elevated 
regions,  and  continuing,  without  any  interruption,  till  the  close 
of  the  day.  These  webs  were  not  single  filmy  threads,  floating 
in  the  air  in  all  directions,  but  perfect  flakes  or  rags ;  some 
near  an  inch  broad,  and  five  or  six  long,  which  fell  with  a  degree 
of  velocity  that  showed  they  were  considerably  heavier  than  the 
atmosphere. 

On  every  side  as  the  observer  turned  his  eyes  might  he 
behold  a  continual  succession  of  fresh  flakes  falling  into  his 
sight,  and  twinkling  like  stars  as  they  turned  their  sides  tow- 
ards the  sun. 

How  far  this  wonderful  shower  extended  would  be  difficult 
to  say ;  but  we  know  that  it  reached  Bradley,  Selborne,  and 
Alresford,  three  places  which  lie  in  a  sort  of  a  triangle,  the 
shortest  of  whose  sides  is  about  eight  miles  in  extent. 

At  the  second  of  those  places  there  was  a  gentleman  (for 
whose  veracity  and  intelligent  turn  we  have  the  greatest  venera- 
tion) who  observed  it  the  moment  he  got  abroad  ;  but  concluded 
that,  as  soon  as  he  came  upon  the  hill  above  his  house,  where 
he  took  his  morning  rides,  he  should  be  higher  than  this  meteor, 
which  he  imagined  might  have  been  blown,  like  thistle-down, 
from  the  common  above  ;  but,  to  his  great  astonishment,  when 
he  rode  to  the  most  elevated  part  of  the  down,  three  hundred 
feet  above  his  fields,  he  found  the  webs  in  appearance  still  as 
much  above  him  as  before;  still  descending  into  sight  in  a  con- 
stant succession,  and  twinkling  in  the  sun,  so  as  to  draw  the 
attention  of  the  most  incurious. 

Neither  before  nor  after  was  any  such  fall  observed  ;  but  on 
this  day  the  flakes  hung  in  the  trees  and  hedges  so  thick  that 
a  diligent  person  sent  out  might  have  gathered  baskets  full. 

The  remark  that  I  shall  make  on  these  cobweb-like  appear- 
ances, called  gossamer,  is,  that,  strange  and  superstitious  as 
the  notions  about  them  were  formerly,  nobody  in  these  days 
doubts  but  that  they  are  the  real  production  of  small  spiders, 
which  swarm  in  the  fields  in  fine  weather  in  autumn,  and  have 
a  power  of  shooting  out  webs  from  their  tails,  so  as  to  render 
themselves  buoyant,  and  lighter  than  air.  But  why  these  apte- 
rous insects  should  that  day  take  such  a  wonderful  aerial  excur- 


NATURAL  HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  1 57 

sion,  and  why  their  webs  should  at  once  become  so  gross  and 
material  as  to  be  considerably  more  weighty  than  air,  and  to 
descend  with  precipitation,  is  a  matter  beyond  my  skill.  If  I 
might  be  allowed  to  hazard  a  supposition,  I  should  imagine 
that  those  filmy  threads,  when  first  shot,  might  be  entangled 
in  the  rising  dew,  and  so  drawn  up,  spiders  and  all,  by  a  brisk 
evaporation,  into  the  regions  where  clouds  are  formed  :  and  if 
the  spiders  have  a  power  of  coiling  and  thickening  their  webs 
in  the  air,  as  Dr.  Lister  says  they  have  [see  his  Letters  to  Mr. 
Ray],  then,  when  they  were  become  heavier  than  the  air,  they 
must  fall. 

Every  day  in  fine  weather,  in  autumn  chiefly,  do  I  see  those 
spiders  shooting  out  their  webs  and  mounting  aloft :  they  will 
go  off  from  your  finger  if  you  will  take  them  into  your  hand. 
Last  summer  one  alighted  on  my  book  as  I  was  reading  in  the 
parlor;  and,  running  to  the  top  of  the  page,  and  shooting  out 
a  web,  took  its  departure  from  thence.  But  what  I  most  won- 
dered at  was,  that  it  went  off  with  considerable  velocity  in  a 
place  where  no  air  was  stirring ;  and  I  am  sure  that  I  did  not 
assist  it  with  my  breath.  So  that  these  little  crawlers  seem  to 
have,  while  mounting,  some  locomotive  power  without  the  use 
of  wings,  and  to  move  in  the  air  faster  than  the  air  itself.^ 

Note 

^  The  appearance  of  the  gossamer-covered  fields  will  be  familiar  to  all 
who  live  in  the  country.  It  seems  clear  that  the  "locomotive  power"  of 
the  tiny  spiders  is  due  solely  to  the  movement  of  the  atmosphere.  On  the 
quietest  days,  if  you  will  wet  your  finger  and  hold  it  up,  you  will  find  it  grow 
sensibly  cooler  on  one  side  than  the  other,  and  on  that  side  is  there  a  faint 
wind  blowing.  If  you  will  then  watch  the  spiders,  you  will  see  them  shoot 
out  long  silvery  threads,  which  will  incline  to  leeward,  and  presently  the 
spiders  will  let  go  their  hold  of  the  grass,  and  launch  themselves  into  the 
air,  floating  av/ay  on  the  slightest  movement  of  it. 


158  WHITE 


LETTER   XXIV 

Selborne,  Aug.  i^th,  177$. 

Dear  Sir,  —  There  is  a  wonderful  spirit  of  sociality  in  the 
brute  creation,  independent  of  sexual  attachment :  the  con- 
gregating of  gregarious  birds  in  the  winter  is  a  remarkable 
instance. 

Many  horses,  though  quiet  with  company,  will  not  stay  one 
minute  in  a  field  by  themselves :  the  strongest  fences  cannot 
restrain  them.  My  neighbor's  horse  will  not  only  not  stay  by 
himself  abroad,  but  he  will  not  bear  to  be  left  alone  in  a  strange 
stable  without  discovering  the  utmost  impatience,  and  endeav- 
oring to  break  the  rack  and  manger  with  his  fore-feet.  He 
has  been  known  to  leap  out  at  a  stable-window,  through  which 
dung  was  thrown,  after  company ;  and  yet  in  other  respects 
is  remarkably  quiet.  Oxen  and  cows  will  not  fatten  by  them- 
selves ;  but  will  neglect  the  finest  pasture  that  is  not  recom- 
mended by  society.  It  would  be  needless  to  instance  in  sheep, 
which  constantly  flock  together. 

But  this  propensity  seems  not  to  be  confined  to  animals  of 
the  same  species ;  for  we  know  a  doe,  still  alive,  that  was 
brought  up  from  a  little  fawn  with  a  dairy  of  cows  ;  with  them 
it  goes  afield,  and  with  them  it  returns  to  the  yard.  The  dogs 
of  the  house  take  no  notice  of  this  deer,  being  used  to  her ;  but, 
if  strange  dogs  come  by,  a  chase  ensues ;  while  the  master 
smiles  to  see  his  favorite  securely  leading  her  pursuers  over 
hedge,  or  gate,  or  stile,  till  she  returns  to  the  cows,  who,  with 
fierce  lowings  and  menacing  horns,  drive  the  assailants  quite 
out  of  the  pasture. 

Even  great  disparity  of  kind  and  size  does  not  always  prevent 
social  advances  and  mutual  fellowship.  For  a  very  intelligent 
and  observant  person  has  assured  me  that,  in  the  former  part 
of  his  life,  keeping  but  one  horse,  he  happened  also  on  a  time 
to  have  but  one  solitary  hen.  These  two  incongruous  animals 
spent  much  of  their  time  together  in  a  lonely  orchard,  where 
they  saw  no  creature  but  each  other.  By  degrees  an  apparent 
regard  began  to  take  place  between  these  two  sequestered  indi- 
viduals.    The  fowl  would  approach  the  quadruped  with  notes 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  1 59 

of  complacency,  rubbing  herself  gently  against  his  legs  :  while 
the  horse  would  look  down  with  satisfaction,  and  move  with  the 
greatest  caution  and  circumspection,  lest  he  should  trample  on 
his  diminutive  companion.  Thus,  by  mutual  good  offices,  each 
seemed  to  console  the  vacant  hours  of  the  other :  so  that  Mil- 
ton, when  he  puts  the  following  sentiment  in  the  mouth  of 
Adam,  seems  to  be  somewhat  mistaken  :  — 

"  Much  less  can  bird  with  beast,  or  fish  with  fowl, 
So  well  converse,  nor  with  the  ox  the  ape." 

I  am,  etc. 


LETTER   XXV 

Selborne,  Oct.  2nd,  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  —  We  have  two  gangs  or  hordes  of  gypsies  which 
infest  the  south  and  west  of  England,  and  come  round  in  their 
circuit  two  or  three  times  in  the  year.  One  of  these  tribes 
calls  itself  by  the  noble  name  of  Stanley,  of  which  I  have 
nothing  particular  to  say  ;  but  the  other  is  distinguished  by  an 
appellative  somewhat  remarkable.  As  far  as  their  harsh  gib- 
berish can  be  understood,  they  seem  to  say  that  the  name  of 
their  clan  is  Curleople ;  now  the  termination  of  this  word  is 
apparently  Grecian,  and  as  Mezeray  and  the  gravest  histori- 
ans all  agree  that  these  vagrants  did  certainly  migrate  from 
Egypt  and  the  East,  two  or  three  centuries  ago,  and  so  spread 
by  degrees  over  Europe,  may  not  this  family  name,  a  little 
corrupted,  be  the  very  name  they  brought  with  them  from 
the  Levant  .-^  It  would  be  matter  of  some  curiosity,  could 
one  meet  with  an  intelligent  person  among  them,  to  inquire 
whether,  in  their  jargon,  they  still  retain  any  Greek  words; 
the  Greek  radicals  will  appear  in  hand,  foot,  head,  water,  earth, 
etc.  It  is  possible  that  amidst  their  cant  and  corrupted  dialect 
many  mutilated  remains  of  their  native  language  might  still 
be  discovered. 

With  regard  to  those  peculiar  people,  the  gypsies,  one  thing 
is  very  remarkable,  and  especially  as  they  came  from  warmer 
climates  ;  and  that  is,  that  while  other  beggars  lodge  in  barns, 
stables,  and  cow-houses,  these  sturdy  savages  seem  to  pride 


l60  WHITE 

themselves  in  braving  the  severities  of  winter,  and  in  living 
sub  dio  the  whole  year  round.  Last  September  was  as  wet  a 
month  as  ever  was  known ;  and  yet  during  those  deluges  did 
a  young  gypsy  girl  lie  in  the  midst  of  one  of  our  hop-gardens, 
on  the  cold  ground,  with  nothing  over  her  but  a  piece  of  a 
blanket  extended  on  a  few  hazel-rods  bent  hoop-fashion,  and 
stuck  into  the  earth  at  each  end,  in  circumstances  too  trying 
for  a  cow  in  the  same  condition  ;  yet  within  this  garden  there 
was  a  large  hop-kiln,  into  the  chambers  of  which  she  might 
have  retired,  had  she  thought  shelter  an  object  worthy  her 
attention. 

Europe  itself,  it  seems,  cannot  set  bounds  to  the  rovings  of 
these  vagabonds ;  for  Mr.  Bell,  in  his  return  from  Peking,  met 
a  gang  of  those  people  on  the  confines  of  Tartary,  who  were 
endeavoring  to  penetrate  those  deserts,  and  try  their  fortune 
in  China. 

Gypsies  are  called  in  French,  Bohemians;  in  Italian  and 

modern  Greek,  Zingari. 

* I  am,  etc. 

LETTER   XXVI 

Selborne,  Nov.  \st,  1775. 

"  Hie  ....  taedas  pingues,  hie  plurimus  ignis 
Semper,  et  assidua  postes  fuligine  nigri." 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  shall  make  no  apology  for  troubling  you  with 
the  detail  of  a  very  simple  piece  of  domestic  economy,  being 
satisfied  that  you  think  nothing  beneath  your  attention  that 
tends  to  utility ;  the  matter  alluded  to  is  the  use  of  rushes 
instead  of  candles,  which  I  am  well  aware  prevails  in  many  dis- 
tricts besides  this  ;  but  as  I  know  there  are  countries  also  where 
it  does  not  obtain,  and  as  I  have  considered  the  subject  with 
some  degree  of  exactness,  I  shall  proceed  in  my  humble  story, 
and  leave  you  to  judge  of  the  expediency. 

The  proper  species  of  rush  for  this  purpose  seems  to  be  the 

juncus  effiisiis,  or  common  soft  rush,  which  is  to  be  found  in 

most  moist  pastures,  by  the  sides  of  streams,  and  under  hedges. 

These  rushes  are  in  best  condition  in  the  height  of  summer ; 

but  may  be  gathered,  so  as  to  serve  the  purpose  well,  quite  on 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  l6l 

to  autumn.  It  would  be  needless  to  add  that  the  largest  and 
longest  are  best.  Decayed  laborers,  women,  and  children  make 
it  their  business  to  procure  and  prepare  them.  As  soon  as 
they  are  cut,  they  must  be  flung  into  water,  and  kept  there, 
for  otherwise  they  will  dry  and  shrink,  and  the  peel  will  not 
run.  At  first  a  person  would  find  it  no  easy  matter  to  divest 
a  rush  of  its  peel  or  rind,  so  as  to  leave  one  regular,  narrow, 
even  rib  from  top  to  bottom  that  may  support  the  pith ;  but 
this,  like  other  feats,  soon  becomes  familiar  even  to  children ; 
and  we  have  seen  an  old  woman,  stone  blind,  performing  this 
business  with  great  despatch,  and  seldom  failing  to  strip  them 
with  the  nicest  regularity.  When  these  jiinci  are  thus  far 
prepared,  they  must  lie  out  on  the  grass  to  be  bleached,  and 
take  the  dew  for  some  nights,  and  afterwards  be  dried  in  the 
sun. 

Some  address  is  required  in  dipping  these  rushes  in  the 
scalding  fat  or  grease ;  but  this  knack  also  is  to  be  attained 
by  practice.  The  careful  wife  of  an  industrious  Hampshire 
laborer  obtains  all  her  fat  for  nothing ;  for  she  saves  the  scum- 
mings  of  her  bacon-pot  for  this  use ;  and,  if  the  grease  abounds 
with  salt,  she  causes  the  salt  to  precipitate  to  the  bottom,  by 
setting  the  scummings  in  a  warm  oven.  Where  hogs  are  not 
much  in  use,  and  especially  by  the  sea-side,  the  coarser  animal- 
oils  will  come  very  cheap.  A  pound  of  common  grease  may 
be  procured  for  fourpence,  and  about  six  pounds  of  grease  will 
dip  a  pound  of  rushes,  and  one  pound  of  rushes  may  be  bought 
for  one  shilling ;  so  that  a  pound  of  rushes,  medicated  and 
ready  for  use,  will  cost  three  shillings.  If  men  that  keep  bees 
will  mix  a  little  wax  with  the  grease,  it  will  give  it  a  consist- 
ency, and  render  it  more  cleanly,  and  make  the  rushes  burn 
longer ;  mutton-suet  would  have  the  same  effect. 

A  good  rush,  which  measured  in  length  two  feet  four  inches 
and  a  half,  being  minuted,  burnt  only  three  minutes  short  of 
an  hour  ;  and  a  rush  of  still  greater  length  has  been  known  to 
burn  one  hour  and  a  quarter. 

These  rushes  give  a  good  clear  light.  Watch  lights  (coated 
with  tallow),  it  is  true,  shed  a  dismal  one,  "  darkness  visible  ;  " 
but  then  the  wick  of  those  have  two  ribs  of  the  rind,  or  peel, 
to  support  the  pith,  while  the  wick  of  the  dipped  rush  has  but 

12 


l62  WHITE 

one.    The  two  ribs  are  intended  to  impede  the  progress  of  the 
flame  and  make  the  candle  last. 

In  a  pound  of  dry  rushes,  avoirdupois,  which  I  caused  to 
be  weighed  and  numbered,  we  found  upwards  of  one  thou- 
sand six  hundred  individuals.  Now  suppose  each  of  these 
burns,  one  with  another,  only  half  an  hour,  then  a  poor  man 
will  purchase  eight  hundred  hours  of  light,  a  time  exceeding 
thirty-three  entire  days,  for  three  shillings.  According  to 
this  account  each  rush,  before  dipping,  costs  3^3  of  a  farthing, 
and  y^y  afterwards.  Thus  a  poor  family  will  enjoy  five  and 
a  half  hours  of  comfortable  light  for  a  farthing.  An  expe- 
rienced old  housekeeper  assures  me  that  one  pound  and  a 
half  of  rushes  completely  supplies  his  family  the  year  round, 
since  working  people  burn  no  candles  in  the  long  days, 
because  they  rise  and  go  to  bed  by  daylight. 

Little  farmers  use  rushes  much  in  the  short  days  both  morn- 
ing and  evening,  in  the  dairy  and  kitchen ;  but  the  very  poor, 
who  are  always  the  worst  economists,  and  therefore  must  con- 
tinue very  poor,  buy  a  halfpenny  candle  every  evening,  which 
in  their  blowing  open  rooms,  does  not  burn  much  more  than 
two  hours.  Thus  have  they  only  two  hours'  light  for  their 
money  instead  of  eleven. 

While  on  the  subject  of  rural  economy,  it  may  not  be  im- 
proper to  mention  a  pretty  implement  of  housewifery  that  we 
have  seen  nowhere  else ;  that  is,  little  neat  besoms  which  our 
foresters  make  from  the  stalks  of  \hQ  polytricum  comimme,  or 
great  golden  maidenhair,  which  they  call  silk-wood,  and  find 
plenty  in  the  bogs.  When  this  moss  is  well  combed  and 
dressed,  and  divested  of  its  outer  skin,  it  becomes  of  a  beau- 
tiful, bright  chestnut  color  ;  and,  being  soft  and  pliant,  is  very 
proper  for  the  dusting  of  beds,  curtains,  carpets,  hangings, 
etc.  If  these  besoms  were  known  to  the  brush-makers  in  town, 
it  is  probable  they  might  come  much  in  use  for  the  purpose 
above-mentioned. 

I  am,  etc. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  163 


LETTER   XXVII 

Selborne,  Dec.  12th,  1775. 
Dear  Sir,  —  We  had  in  this  village  more  than  twenty  years 
ago  an  idiot  boy,  whom  I  well  remember,  who^  from  a  child, 
showed  a  strong  propensity  to  bees ;  they  were  his  food,  his 
amusement,  his  sole  object.     And  as  people  of  this  caste  have 
seldom  more  than  one  point  in  view,  so  this  lad  exerted  all  his 
few  faculties  on  this  one  pursuit.     In  the  winter  he  dozed 
away  his  time,  within  his  father's  house,  by  the  fireside,  in  a 
kind  of  torpid  state,  seldom  departing  from  the  chimney-cor- 
ner ;  but  in  the  summer  he  was  all  alert,  and  in  quest  of  his 
game  in  the  fields,  and  on  sunny  banks.     Honey-bees,  bumble- 
bees, and  wasps  were  his  prey  wherever  he  found  them ;  he 
had  no  apprehensions  from  their  stings,  but  would  seize  them 
7iHdts  manibiis,  and  at  once  disarm  them  of  their  weapons, 
and  suck  their  bodies  for  the  sake  of  their  honey-bags.     Some- 
times he  would  fill  his  bosom  between  his  shirt  and  his  skin 
with  a  number  of  these  captives,  and  sometimes  would  confine 
them  in  bottles.     He  was  a  very  merops  apiaster,  or  bee-bird, 
and  very  injurious  to  men  that  kept  bees ;  for  he  would  slide 
into  their  bee-gardens,  and,  sitting  down  before  the  stools, 
would  rap  with  his  finger  on  the  hives,  and  so  take  the  bees 
as  they  came  out.     He  has  been  known  to  overturn  hives  for 
the  sake  of  honey,  of  which  he  was  passionately  fond.    Where 
metheglin  was  making,  he  would  linger  round  the  tubs  and 
vessels,  begging  a  draught  of  what  he  called  bee-wine.     As 
he  ran  about  he  used  to  make  a  humming  noise  with  his  lips, 
resembling  the  buzzing  of  bees.     This  lad  was  lean  and  sal- 
low, and  of  a  cadaverous  complexion ;  and,  except  in  his  fa- 
vorite pursuit,  in  which  he  was  wonderfully  adroit,  discovered 
no  manner  of  understanding.     Had  his  capacity  been  better, 
and  directed  to  the  same  object,  he  had  perhaps  abated  much 
of  our  wonder  at  the  feats  of  a  more  modern  exhibitor  of  bees; 
and  we  may  justly  say  of  him  now :  — 

.  .  .  "Thou, 
Had  thy  presiding  star  propitious  shone, 
Shouldst  Wildman  1  be."     .     .     . 


1 64  WHITE 

When  a  tall  youth  he  was  removed  from  hence  to  a  distant 

village,  where  he  died,  as  I  understand,  before  he  arrived  at 

manhood.  t  . 

I  am,  etc. 

Note 
^  Wildman  was  a  writer  on  bees  and  their  management.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XXVIII 

Selborne,  Jati.  Zth,  1776. 

Dear  Sir,  —  It  is  the  hardest  thing  in  the  world  to  shake 
off  superstitious  prejudices :  they  are  sucked  in,  as  it  were, 
with  our  mother's  milk ;  and,  growing  up  with  us  at  a  time 
when  they  take  the  fastest  hold  and  make  the  most  lasting 
impressions,  become  so  interwoven  into  our  very  constitutions, 
that  the  strongest  good  sense  is  required  to  disengage  our- 
selves from  them.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  lower  people 
retain  them  their  whole  lives  through,  since  their  minds  are 
not  invigorated  by  a  liberal  education,  and  therefore  not  en- 
abled to  make  any  efforts  adequate  to  the  occasion. 

Such  a  preamble  seems  to  be  necessary  before  we  enter  on 
the  superstitions  of  this  district,  lest  we  should  be  suspected 
of  exaggeration  in  a  recital  of  practices  too  gross  for  this 
enlightened  age. 

But  the  people  of  Tring,  in  Hertfordshire,  would  do  well 
to  remember,  that  no  longer  ago  than  the  year  175 1,  and 
within  twenty  miles  of  the  capital,  they  seized  on  two  super- 
annuated wretches,  crazed  with  age,  and  overwhelmed  with 
infirmities,  on  a  suspicion  of  witchcraft ;  and,  by  trying  experi- 
ments, drowned  them  in  a  horse-pond. 

In  a  farm-yard  near  the  middle  of  this  village  stands,  at 
this  day,  a  row  of  pollard-ashes,  which,  by  the  seams  and  long 
cicatrices  down  their  sides,  manifestly  show  that,  in  former 
times,  they  have  been  cleft  asunder.  These  trees,  when  young 
and  flexible,  were  severed  and  held  open  by  wedges,  while 
ruptured  children,  stripped  naked,  were  pushed  through  the 
apertures,  under  a  persuasion  that,  by  such  a  process,  the 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  165 

poor  babes  would  be  cured  of  their  infirmity.  As  soon  as 
the  operation  was  over,  the  tree,  in  the  suffering  part,  was 
plastered  with  loam,  and  carefully  swathed  up.  If  the  parts 
coalesced  and  soldered  together,  as  usually  fell  out,  where  the 
feat  was  performed  with  any  adroitness  at  all,  the  party  was 
cured  ;  but,  where  the  cleft  continued  to  gape,  the  operation, 
it  was  supposed,  would  prove  ineffectual.  Having  occasion 
to  enlarge  my  garden  not  long  since,  I  cut  down  two  or  three 
such  trees,  one  of  which  did  not  grow  together. 

We  have  several  persons  now  living  in  the  village,  who,  in 
their  childhood,  were  supposed  to  be  healed  by  this  super- 
stitious ceremony,  derived  down  perhaps  from  our  Saxon 
ancestors,  who  practised  it  before  their  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity. 

At  the  fourth  corner  of  the  Plestor,  or  area,  near  the  church, 
there  stood,  about  twenty  years  ago,  a  very  old  grotesque 
hollow  pollard-ash,  which  for  ages  had  been  looked  on  with 
no  small  veneration  as  a  shrew-ash.  Now  a  shrew-ash  is  an 
ash  whose  twigs  or  branches,  when  gently  applied  to  the 
limbs  of  cattle,  will  immediately  relieve  the  pains  which  a 
beast  suffers  from  the  running  of  a  shrew-mouse  over  the  part 
affected ;  for  it  is  supposed  that  a  shrew-mouse  is  of  so  bane- 
ful and  deleterious  a  nature,  that  wherever  it  creeps  over  a 
beast,  be  it  horse,  cow,  or  sheep,  the  suffering  animal  is  afflicted 
with  cruel  anguish,  and  threatened  with  the  loss  of  the  use  of 
the  limb.^  Against  this  accident,  to  which  they  were  continu- 
ally liable,  our  provident  forefathers  always  kept  a  shrew-ash 
at  hand,  which,  when  once  medicated,  would  maintain  its 
virtue  forever.  A  shrew-ash  was  made  thus :  —  Into  the  body 
of  the  tree  a  deep  hole  was  bored  with  an  auger,  and  a  poor 
devoted  shrew-mouse  was  thrust  in  alive,  and  plugged  in,  no 
doubt,  with  several  quaint  incantations  long  since  forgotten. 
As  the  ceremonies  necessary  for  such  a  consecration  are  no 
longer  understood,  all  succession  is  at  an  end,  and  no  such  tree 
is  known  to  subsist  in  the  manor,  or  hundred. 

As  to  that  on  the  Plestor  — 

"  The  late  Vicar  stubbed  and  burnt  it," 
when  he  was  way-warden,  regardless  of  the  remonstrances  of 


l66  WHITE 

the  bystanders,  who  interceded  in  vain  for  its  preservation, 
urging  its  power  and  efficacy,  and  alleging  that  it  had  been  — 

"Religione  patrum  multos  servata  per  annos." 

I  am,  etc. 
Note 

1  "  When  a  horse  in  the  fields  happened  to  be  suddenly  seized  with  any- 
thing like  a  numbness  in  his  legs,  he  was  immediately  judged  by  the  old 
persons  to  be  either  planet-struck,  or  shrew-struck.  The  mode  of  cure 
which  they  prescribed,  and  which  they  considered  in  all  cases  infallible, 
was  to  drag  the  animal  through  a  piece  of  bramble  that  grew  at  both  ends." 

—  BiNGLEY. 


LETTER   XXIX 

Selborne,  Feb.  jth,  1776. 

Dear  Sir, — In  heavy  fogs,  on  elevated  situations  especially, 
trees  are  perfect  alembics;  and  no  one  that  has  not  attended  to 
such  matters  can  imagine  how  much  water  one  tree  will  distil  in 
a  night's  time,  by  condensing  the  vapor,  which  trickles  down 
the  twigs  and  boughs,  so  as  to  make  the  ground  below  quite  in 
a  float.  In  Newton  Lane,  in  October  1775,  on  a  misty  day,  a 
particular  oak  in  leaf  dropped  so  fast  that  the  cart-way  stood  in 
puddles  and  the  ruts  ran  with  water,  though  the  ground  in 
general  was  dusty. 

In  some  of  our  smaller  islands  in  the  West  Indies,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  there  are  no  springs  or  rivers ;  but  the  people  are 
supplied  with  that  necessary  element,  water,  merely  by  the 
dripping  of  some  large  teak-trees,  which,  standing  in  the  bosom 
of  a  mountain,  keep  their  heads  constantly  enveloped  with  fogs 
and  clouds,  from  which  they  dispense  their  kindly,  never-ceas- 
ing moisture ;  and  so  render  those  districts  habitable  by  con- 
densation alone. 

Trees  in  leaf  have  such  a  vast  proportion  more  of  surface 
ithan  those  that  are  naked,  that,  in  theory,  their  condensations 
should  greatly  exceed  those  that  are  stripped  of  their  leaves ; 
but,  as  the  former  imbibe  also  a  great  quantity  of  moisture,  it 
is  difficult  to  say  which  drip  most ;  but  this  I  know,  that  decid- 
'uous  trees  that  are  entwined  with  much  ivy  seem  to  distil  the 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  I67 

greatest  quantity.  Ivy  leaves  are  smooth,  and  thick,  and  cold, 
and  therefore  condense  very  fast ;  and  besides,  evergreens  im- 
bibe very  little.  These  facts  may  furnish  the  intelligent  with 
hints  concerning  what  sorts  of  trees  they  should  plant  round 
small  ponds  that  they  would  wish  to  be  perennial ;  and  show 
them  how  advantageous  some  trees  are  in  preference  to  others. 

Trees  perspire  profusely,  condense  largely,  and  check  evap- 
oration so  much,  that  woods  are  always  moist ;  no  wonder, 
therefore,  that  they  contribute  much  to  pools  and  streams. 

That  trees  are  great  promoters  of  lakes  and  rivers  appears 
from  a  well-known  fact  in  North  America ;  for,  since  the  woods 
and  forests  have  been  grubbed  and  cleared,  all  bodies  of  water 
are  much  diminished ;  so  that  some  streams,  that  were  very 
considerable  a  century  ago,  will  not  now  drive  a  common  mill. 
Besides,  most  wood-lands,  forests,  and  chases  with  us  abound 
with  pools  and  morasses  ;  no  doubt  for  the  reason  given  above. 

To  a  thinking  mind  few  phenomena  are  more  strange  than 
the  state  of  little  ponds  on  the  summits  of  chalk-hills,  many  of 
which  are  never  dry  in  the  most  trying  droughts  of  summer. 
On  chalk-hills  I  say,  because  in  many  rocky  and  gravelly  soils 
springs  usually  break  out  pretty  high  on  the  sides  of  elevated 
grounds  and  mountains  ;  but  no  person  acquainted  with  chalky 
districts  will  allow  that  they  ever  saw  springs  in  such  a  soil 
but  in  valleys  and  bottoms,  since  the  waters  of  so  pervious  a 
stratum  as  chalk  all  lie  on  one  dead  level,  as  well-diggers  have 
assured  me  again  and  again. 

Now  we  have  many  such  little  round  ponds  in  this  district ; 
and  one  in  particular  on  our  sheep-down,  three  hundred  feet 
above  my  house ;  which,  though  never  above  three  feet  deep 
in  the  middle,  and  not  more  than  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  and 
containing  perhaps  not  more  than  two  or  three  hundred  hogs- 
heads of  water,  yet  never  is  known  to  fail,  though  it  affords 
drink  for  three  hundred  or  four  hundred  sheep,  and  for  at  least 
twenty  head  of  large  cattle  beside.  This  pond,  it  is  true,  is 
overhung  with  two  moderate  beeches,  that,  doubtless,  at  times 
afford  it  much  supply  :  but  then  we  have  others  as  small,  that, 
without  the  aid  of  trees,  and  in  spite  of  evaporation  from  sun 
and  wind,  and  perpetual  consumption  by  cattle,  yet  constantly 
maintain  a  moderate  share  of  water,  without  overflowing  in 


l68  WHITE 

the  wettest  seasons,  as  they  would  do  if  suppUed  by  springs. 
By  my  journal  of  May  1775,  it  appears  that  "the  small  and 
even  considerable  ponds  in  the  vales  are  now  dried  up,  while 
the  small  ponds  on  the  very  tops  of  hills  are  but  little  affected." 
Can  this  difference  be  accounted  for  from  evaporation  alone, 
which  certainly  is  more  prevalent  in  bottoms  .<*  or  rather  have 
not  those  elevated  pools  some  unnoticed  recruits,  which  in  the 
night-time  counterbalance  the  waste  of  the  day ;  without  which 
the  cattle  alone  must  soon  exhaust  them  }  And  here  it  will  be 
necessary  to  enter  more  minutely  into  the  cause.  Dr.  Hales,  in 
his  "Vegetable  Statics,"  advances,  from  experiment,  that  "the 
moister  the  earth  is  the  more  dew  falls  on  it  in  a  night ;  and 
more  than  a  double  quantity  of  dew  falls  on  a  surface  of  water 
than  there  does  on  an  equal  surface  of  moist  earth."  Hence 
we  see  that  water,  by  its  coolness,  is  enabled  to  assimilate  to 
itself  a  large  quantity  of  moisture  nightly  by  condensation ; 
and  that  the  air,  when  loaded  with  fogs  and  vapors,  and  even 
with  copious  dews,  can  alone  advance  a  considerable  and  never- 
failing  resource.  Persons  that  are  much  abroad,  and  travel 
early  and  late,  such  as  shepherds,  fishermen,  etc.,  can  tell  what 
prodigious  fogs  prevail  in  the  night  on  elevated  downs,  even 
in  the  hottest  parts  of  summer  ;  and  how  much  the  surfaces  of 
things  are  drenched  by  those  swimming  vapors,  though,  to  the 
senses,  all  the  while,  little  moisture  seems  to  fall. 

I  am,  etc. 


LETTER   XXX 

Selborne,  April -i^rd,  1776. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Monsieur  Herissant,  a  French  anatomist,  seems 
persuaded  that  he  has  discovered  the  reason  why  cuckoos  do 
not  hatch  their  own  eggs  ;  the  impediment,  he  supposes,  arises 
from  the  internal  structure  of  their  parts,  which  incapacitates 
them  for  incubation.  According  to  this  gentleman,  the  crop, 
or  craw,  of  a  cuckoo  does  not  lie  before  the  sternum  at  the 
bottom  of  the  neck,  as  in  the  gallincs,  colnmbcB,  etc.,  but 
immediately  behind  it,  on  and  over  the  bowels,  so  as  to  make 
a  large  protuberance  in  the  belly. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  169 

Induced  by  this  assertion,  we  procured  a  cuckoo  ;  and,  cut- 
ting open  the  breastbone,  and  exposing  the  intestines  to  sight, 
found  the  crop  lying  as  mentioned  above.  This  stomach  was 
large  and  round,  and  stuffed  hard,  like  a  pincushion,  with  food, 
which,  upon  nice  examination,  we  found  to  consist  of  various 
insects ;  such  as  small  scarabs,  spiders,  and  dragon-flies ;  the 
last  of  which  we  have  seen  cuckoos  catching  on  the  wing  as 
they  were  just  emerging  out  of  the  aurelia  state.  Among  this 
farrago  also  were  to  be  seen  maggots,  and  many  seeds,  which 
belonged  either  to  gooseberries,  currants,  cranberries,  or  some 
such  fruit ;  so  that  these  birds  apparently  subsist  on  insects 
and  fruits ;  nor  was  there  the  least  appearance  of  bones, 
feathers,  or  fur,  to  support  the  idle  notion  of  their  being  birds 
of  prey. 

The  sternum  in  this  bird  seemed  to  us  to  be  remarkably  short, 
between  which  and  the  anus  lay  the  crop,  or  craw,  and  im- 
mediately behind  that  the  bowels  against  the  backbone. 

It  must  be  allowed,  as  this  anatomist  observes,  that  the  crop 
placed  just  upon  the  bowels  must,  especially  when  full,  be  in 
a  very  uneasy  situation  during  the  business  of  incubation ;  yet 
the  test  will  be  to  examine  whether  birds  that  are  actually 
known  to  sit  for  certain  are  not  formed  in  a  similar  manner. 
This  inquiry  I  proposed  to  myself  to  make  with  a  fern-owl,  or 
goat-sucker,  as  soon  as  opportunity  offered  :  because,  if  their 
formation  proves  the  same,  the  reason  for  incapacity  in  the 
cuckoo  will  be  allowed  to  have  been  taken  up  somewhat  hastily. 

Not  long  after  a  fern-owl  was  procured,  which,  from  its  habit 
and  shape,  we  suspected  might  resemble  the  cuckoo  in  its  inter- 
nal construction.  Nor  were  our  suspicions  ill-grounded  ;  for, 
upon  the  dissection,  the  crop,  or  craw,  also  lay  behind  the  ster- 
num, immediately  on  the  viscera,  between  them  and  the  skin  of 
the  belly.  It  was  bulky,  and  stuffed  hard  with  \z.xgQ.phal<Z)i(£, 
moths  of  several  sorts,  and  their  eggs,  which  no  doubt  had  been 
forced  out  of  those  insects  by  the  action  of  swallowing. 

Now  as  it  appears  that  this  bird,  which  is  so  well  known  to 
practise  incubation,  is  formed  in  a  similar  manner  with  cuckoos. 
Monsieur  Herissant's  conjecture,  that  cuckoos  arc  incapable  of 
incubation  from  the  disposition  of  their  intestines,  seems  to  fall 
to  the  ground;  and  we  are  still  at  a  loss  for  the  cause  of  that 


I/O  WHITE 

strange  and  singular  peculiarity  in  the  instance  of  the  cuailus 
canoriis. 

We  found  the  case  to  be  the  same  with  the  ring-tail  hawk,  in 
respect  to  formation ;  and,  as  far  as  I  can  recollect,  with  the 
swift ;  and  probably  it  is  so  with  many  more  sorts  of  birds  that 
are  not  granivorous.  I  am,  etc. 

LETTER   XXXI 

Selborne,  April  2<)th,  1776. 

Dear  Sir,  —  On  August  4th,  1775,  we  surprised  a  large 
viper,  which  seemed  very  heavy  and  bloated,  as  it  lay  in  the 
grass  basking  in  the  sun.  When  we  came  to  cut  it  up,  we 
found  that  the  abdomen  was  crowded  with  young,  fifteen  in 
number ;  the  shortest  of  which  measured  full  seven  inches,  and 
were  about  the  size  of  full-grown  earthworms.  This  little  fry 
issued  into  the  world  with  the  true  viper-spirit  about  them, 
showing  great  alertness  as  soon  as  disengaged  from  the  belly 
or  the  dam :  they  twisted  and  wriggled  about,  and  set  them- 
selves up,  and  gaped  very  wide  when  touched  with  a  stick, 
showing  manifest  tokens  of  menace  and  defiance,  though  as  yet 
they  had  no  manner  of  fangs  that  we  could  find,  even  with  the 
help  of  our  glasses. 

To  a  thinking  mind  nothing  is  more  wonderful  than  that  early 
instinct  which  impresses  young  animals  with  a  notion  of  the 
situation  of  their  natural  weapons,  and  of  using  them  properly 
in  their  own  defence,  even  before  those  weapons  subsist  or  are 
formed.  Thus  a  young  cock  will  spar  at  his  adversary  before 
his  spurs  are  grown  ;  and  a  calf  or  a  lamb  will  push  with  their 
heads  before  their  horns  are  sprouted.  In  the  same  manner 
did  these  young  adders  attempt  to  bite  before  their  fangs  were 
in  being.  The  dam  however  was  furnished  with  very  formi- 
dable ones,  which  we  lifted  up  (for  they  fold  down  when  not 
used)  and  cut  them  off  with  the  point  of  our  scissors. 

There  was  little  room  to  suppose  that  this  brood  had  ever 
been  in  the  open  air  before  ;  and  that  they  were  taken  in  for 
refuge,  at  the  mouth  of  the  dam,  when  she  perceived  that  dan- 
ger was  approaching ;  because  then  probably  we  should  have 
found  them  somewhere  in  the  neck,  and  not  in  the  abdomen. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  17I 


LETTER   XXXII 

Castration  has  a  strange  effect :  it  emasculates  both  man, 
beast,  and  bird,  and  brings  them  to  a  near  resemblance  of  the 
other  sex.  Thus  eunuchs  have  smooth,  unmuscular  arms, 
thighs,  and  legs ;  and  broad  hips,  and  beardless  chins,  and 
squeaking  voices.  Gelt  stags  and  bucks  have  hornless  heads, 
like  hinds  and  does.  Thus  wethers  have  small  horns,  like  ewes  ; 
and  oxen  large  bent  horns,  and  hoarse  voices  when  they  low, 
like  cows :  for  bulls  have  short  straight  horns ;  and  though  they 
mutter  and  grumble  in  a  deep  tremendous  tone,  yet  they  low 
in  a  shrill  high  key.  Capons  have  small  combs  and  gills,  and 
look  pallid  about  the  head,  like  pullets ;  they  also  walk  with- 
out any  parade,  and  hover  chickens  like  hens.  Barrow-hogs 
have  also  small  tusks  like  sows. 

Thus  far  it  is  plain  that  the  deprivation  of  masculine  vigor 
puts  a  stop  to  the  growth  of  those  parts  or  appendages  that 
are  looked  upon  as  its  insignia.  But  the  ingenious  Mr.  Lisle, 
in  his  book  on  husbandry,  carries  it  much  farther ;  for  he  says 
that  the  loss  of  those  insignia  alone  has  sometimes  a  strange 
effect  on  the  ability  itself  :  he  had  a  boar  so  fierce  and  venere- 
ous,  that,  to  prevent  mischief,  orders  were  given  for  his  tusks 
to  be  broken  off.  No  sooner  had  the  beast  suffered  this  injury 
than  his  powers  forsook  him,  and  he  neglected  those  females 
to  whom  before  he  was  passionately  attached,  and  from  whom 
no  fences  would  restrain  him. 


LETTER   XXXIII 

The  natural  term  of  a  hog's  life  is  little  known,  and  the 
reason  is  plain  —  because  it  is  neither  profitable  nor  conven- 
ient to  keep  that  turbulent  animal  to  the  full  extent  of  its 
time :  however,  my  neighbor,  a  man  of  substance,  who  had 
no  occasion  to  study  every  little  advantage  to  a  nicety,  kept 
a  half-bred  bantam -sow,  who  was  as  thick  as  she  was  long 
and  whose  belly  swept  on  the  ground,  till  she  was  advanced 


172  WHITE 

to  her  seventeenth  year,  at  which  period  she  showed  some 
tokens  of  age  by  the  decay  of  her  teeth  and  the  decline  of 
her  f ertiUty. 

For  about  ten  years  this  prolific  mother  produced  two  litters 
in  the  year  of  about  ten  at  a  time,  and  once  above  twenty  at  a 
litter ;  but,  as  there  were  near  double  the  number  of  pigs  to 
that  of  teats,  many  died.  From  long  experience  in  the  world 
this  female  was  grown  very  sagacious  and  artful.  When  she 
found  occasion  to  converse  with  a  boar  she  used  to  open  all 
the  intervening  gates,  and  march,  by  herself,  up  to  a  distant 
farm  where  one  was  kept ;  and  when  her  purpose  was  served 
would  return  by  the  same  means.  At  the  age  of  about  fifteen 
her  litters  began  to  be  reduced  to  four  or  five ;  and  such  a 
litter  she  exhibited  when  in  her  f  atting-pen.  She  proved,  when 
fat,  good  bacon,  juicy  and  tender ;  the  rind,  or  sward,  was  re- 
markably thin.  At  a  moderate  computation  she  was  allowed 
to  have  been  the  fruitful  parent  of  three  hundred  pigs  :  a  pro- 
digious instance  of  fecundity  in  so  large  a  quadruped  !  She 
was  killed  in  spring  1775. 

I  am,  etc. 


LETTER   XXXIV 

Selborne,  May  ^th,  1776. 
.     .     .     "adm6runt  ubera  tigres." 

Dear  Sir,  —  We  have  remarked  in  a  former  letter  ^  how 
much  incongruous  animals,  in  a  lonely  state,  may  be  attached 
to  each  other  from  a  spirit  of  sociality ;  in  this  it  may  not  be 
amiss  to  recount  a  different  motive  which  has  been  known  to 
create  as  strange  a  fondness. 

My  friend  had  a  little  helpless  leveret  brought  to  him,  which 
the  servants  fed  with  milk  in  a  spoon,  and  about  the  same 
time  his  cat  kittened  and  the  young  were  despatched  and 
buried.  The  hare  was  soon  lost,  and  supposed  to  be  gone  the 
way  of  most  fondlings,  to  be  killed  by  some  dog  or  cat.  How- 
ever, in  about  a  fortnight,  as  the  master  was  sitting  in  his 
garden  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  he  observed  his  cat,  with 
tail  erect,  trotting  towards  him,  and  calling  with  little  short 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF  SELBORNE  173 

inward  notes  of  complacency,  such  as  they  use  towards  their 
kittens,  and  something  gambolling  after,  which  proved  to  be  the 
leveret  that  the  cat  had  supported  with  her  milk,  and  con- 
tinued to  support  with  great  affection.^ 

Thus  was  the  graminivorous  animal  nurtured  by  a  carnivo- 
rous and  predaceous  one ! 

Why  so  cruel  and  sanguinary  a  beast  as  a  cat,  of  the  fero- 
cious genus  of  Felis,  the  miD-iiim  leo,  as  Linnaeus  calls  it, 
should  be  affected  with  any  tenderness  towards  an  animal 
which  is  its  natural  prey,  is  not  so  easy  to  determine. 

This  strange  affection  probably  was  occasioned  by  that  desi- 
derium,  those  tender,  maternal  feelings,  which  the  loss  of  her 
kittens  had  awakened  in  her  breast ;  and  by  the  complacency 
and  ease  she  derived  to  herself  from  the  procuring  her  teats 
to  be  drawn,  which  were  too  much  distended  with  milk,  till, 
from  habit,  she  became  as  much  delighted  with  this  foundling 
as  if  it  had  been  her  real  offspring. 

This  incident  is  no  bad  solution  of  that  strange  circumstance 
which  grave  historians  as  well  as  the  poets  assert  of  exposed 
children  being  sometimes  nurtured  by  female  wild  beasts  that 
probably  had  lost  their  young.  For  it  is  not  one  whit  more 
mar\^ellous  that  Romulus  and  Remus,  in  their  infant  state, 
should  be  nursed  by  a  she-wolf,  than  that  a  poor  little  suck- 
ing leveret  should  be  fostered  and  cherished  by  a  bloody 
grimalkin. 

,     .     .     "  viridi  foetam  Mavortis  in  antro 
Procubuisse  lupam  :  geminos  huic  ubera  circum 
Ludere  pendentes  pueros,  et  lambere  matrem 
Impavidos  :  illam  tereti  cervice  reflexam 
Mulcere  alternos,  et  corpora  fingere  lingua."  ^ 

Notes 
iLetter  XXIV.  — G.  W. 

■^  An  incident  told  me  by  Mr.  Harrett,  of  Kirkwhelpington,  may  well  oe 
told  here.  He  has  a  fine  collie  bitch  which  had  young  ones.  She  was 
annoyed  by  a  cat  prowling  about  them,  and  killed  it.  This  cat  had  one 
small  kitten,  which  the  maids  tried  to  rear  by  hand  in  the  kitchen.  The 
bitch  hearing  its  cries  fetched  it  away  and  laid  it  among  her  own  pups,  suck- 
ling it  until  they  were  all  weaned  together,  thus  atoning  as  far  as  she  could 
for  the  murder  of  its  mother. 

3  ''  The  cave  of  Mars  was  dressed  with  mossy  greens  : 
There  by  the  wolf  were  laid  the  martial  twins, 


174  WHITE 

Intrepid  on  her  swelling  dugs  they  hung; 

The  foster  dam  lolled  out  her  fawning  tongue  : 

They  sucked  secure,  while  bending  back  her  head, 

She  licked  their  tender  limbs  ;  and  formed  them  as  they  fed." 

Dryd.  Virg.  ^n.  viii.  1.  840.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER  XXXV 

Selborne,  May  10th,  1777. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Lands  that  are  subject  to  frequent  inunda- 
tions are  always  poor ;  and  probably  the  reason  may  be  be- 
cause the  worms  are  drowned.  The  most  insignificant  insects 
and  reptiles  are  of  much  more  consequence,  and  have  much 
more  influence  in  the  economy  of  nature,  than  the  incurious 
are  aware  of ;  and  are  mighty  in  their  effect,  from  their  mi- 
nuteness, which  renders  them  less  an  object  of  attention ;  and 
from  their  numbers  and  fecundity.  Earthworms,  though  in 
appearance  a  small  and  despicable  link  in  the  chain  of  nature, 
yet,  if  lost,  would  make  a  lamentable  chasm.  For  to  say  noth- 
ing of  half  the  birds,  and  some  quadrupeds,  which  are  almost 
entirely  supported  by  them,  worms  seem  to  be  the  great  pro- 
moters of  vegetation,  which  would  proceed  but  lamely  with- 
out them,  by  boring,  perforating,  and  loosening  the  soil,  and 
rendering  it  pervious  to  rains  and  the  fibres  of  plants,  by  draw- 
ing straws  and  stalks  of  leaves  and  twigs  into  it ;  and,  most  of 
all,  by  throwing  up  such  infinite  numbers  of  lumps  of  earth 
called  worm-casts,  which,  being  their  excrement,  is  a  fine  ma- 
nure for  grain  and  grass.  Worms  probably  provide  new  soil 
for  hills  and  slopes  where  the  rain  washes  the  earth  away ; 
and  they  affect  slopes,  probably  to  avoid  being  flooded.  Gar- 
deners and  farmers  express  their  detestation  of  worms ;  the 
former  because  they  render  their  walks  unsightly,  and  make 
them  much  work  ;  and  the  latter  because,  as  they  think,  worms 
eat  their  green  corn.  But  these  men  would  find  that  the  earth 
without  worms  would  soon  become  cold,  hard-bound,  and  void 
of  fermentation,  and  consequently  sterile;  and  besides,  in 
favor  of  worms,  it  should  be  hinted  that  green  corn,  plants, 
and  flowers  are  not  so  much  injured  by  them  as  by  many  spe- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF    SELBORNE  175 

cies  of  coleoptera  (scarabs)  and  /z/J'w/i?  (long-legs)  in  their  larva, 
or  grub-state ;  and  by  unnoticed  myriads  of  small  shell-less 
snails,  called  slugs,  which  silently  and  imperceptibly  make 
amazing  havoc  in  the  field  and  garden.^ 

These  hints  we  think  proper  to  throw  out  in  order  to  set  the 
inquisitive  and  discerning  to  work. 

A  good  monography  of  worms  would  afford  much  entertain- 
ment and  information  at  the  same  time,  and  would  open  a  large 
and  new  field  in  natural  history.  Worms  work  most  in  the 
spring ;  but  by  no  means  lie  torpid  in  the  dead  months :  are 
out  every  mild  night  in  the  winter,  as  any  person  may  be  con- 
vinced that  will  take  the  pains  to  examine  his  grass-plots  with 
a  candle ;  are  hermaphrodites,  and  much  addicted  to  venery, 
and  consequently  very  prolific. 

I  am,  etc. 
Note 

1  Farmer  Young,  of  Norton  Farm,  says,  that  this  spring  (1777)  about  four 
acres  of  his  wheat  in  one  field  were  entirely  destroyed  by  slugs,  which  swarmed 
on  the  blades  of  corn  and  devoured  it  as  fast  as  it  sprang.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XXXVI 

Selborne,  Nov.  22nd,  1777. 

Dear  Sir, — You  cannot  but  remember  that  the  26th  and 
27th  of  last  March  were  very  hot  days,  —  so  sultry  that  every- 
body complained  and  were  restless  under  those  sensations  to 
which  they  had  not  become  reconciled  by  gradual  approaches. 

This  sudden  summer-like  heat  was  attended  by  many  sum- 
mer coincidences  ;  for  on  those  two  days  the  thermometer  rose 
to  66°  in  the  shade  ;  many  species  of  insects  revived  and  came 
forth  ;  some  bees  swarmed  in  this  neighborhood ;  the  old  tor- 
toise, near  Lewes,  in  Sussex,  awakened  and  came  forth  out 
of  its  dormitory ;  and,  what  is  most  to  my  present  purpose, 
many  house-swallows  appeared  and  were  very  alert  in  many 
places,  and  particularly  at  Cobham,  in  Surrey. 

But  as  that  short  warm  period  was  succeeded  as  well  as  pre- 
ceded by  harsh  severe  weather,  with  frequent  frosts  and  ice, 


176  WHITE 

and  cutting  winds,  the  insects  withdrew,  the  tortoise  retired 
again  into  the  ground,  and  the  swallows  were  seen  no  more 
until  the  loth  April,  when,  the  rigor  of  the  spring  abating,  a 
softer  season  began  to  prevail. 

Again ;  it  appears  by  my  journals  for  many  years  past  that 
house-martins  retire,  to  a  bird,  about  the  beginning  of  October; 
so  that  a  person  not  very  observant  of  such  matters  would  con- 
clude that  they  had  taken  their  last  farewell ;  but  then  it  may 
be  seen  in  my  diaries  also  that  considerable  flocks  have  dis- 
covered themselves  again  in  the  first  week  of  November,  and 
often  on  the  fourth  day  of  that  month  only  for  one  day ;  and 
that  not  as  if  they  were  in  actual  migration,  but  playing  about 
at  their  leisure  and  feeding  calmly,  as  if  no  enterprise  of 
moment  at  all  agitated  their  spirits.  And  this  was  the  case  in 
the  beginning  of  this  very  month  ;  for  on  the  4th  November, 
more  than  twenty  house-martins,  which,  in  appearance,  had 
all  departed  about  the  7th  October,  were  seen  again  for  that 
one  morning  only  sporting  between  my  fields  and  the  Hanger, 
and  feasting  on  insects  which  swarmed  in  that  sheltered  district. 
The  preceding  day  was  wet  and  blustering,  but  the  4th  was 
dark,  and  mild,  and  soft,  the  wind  at  south-west,  and  the  ther- 
mometer at  58-^-° ;  a  pitch  not  common  at  that  season  of  the 
year.  Moreover,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  add  in  this  place  that 
whenever  the  thermometer  is  above  50°,  the  bat  comes  flitting 
out  in  every  autumnal  and  winter  month. 

From  all  these  circumstances  laid  together,  it  is  obvious  that 
torpid  insects,  reptiles,  and  quadrupeds  are  awakened  from 
their  profoundest  slumbers  by  a  little  untimely  warmth ;  and 
therefore  that  nothing  so  much  promotes  its  death-like  stupor 
as  a  defect  of  heat.  And  farther,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  two  whole  species,  or  at  least  many  individuals  of  those 
two  species  of  British  hirundines  do  never  leave  this  island  at 
all,  but  partake  of  the  same  benumbed  state ;  for  we  cannot 
suppose,  that  after  a  month's  absence,  house-martins  can  return 
from  southern  regions  to  appear  for  one  morning  in  Novem- 
ber, or  that  house-swallows  should  leave  the  districts  of  Asia 
to  enjoy  in  March  the  transient  summer  of  a  couple  of  days. 

I  am,  etc. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  177 


LETTER  XXXVII 

SELBORNE,/d!«.  8M,  1778. 

Dear  Sir,  —  There  was  in  this  village  several  years  ago  a 
miserable  pauper,  who  from  his  birth  was  afflicted  with  a  lep- 
rosy, as  far  as  we  are  aware  of  a  singular  kind,  since  it 
affected  only  the  palms  of  his  hands  and  the  soles  of  his  feet. 
This  scaly  eruption  usually  broke  out  twice  in  the  year,  at  the 
spring  and  fall ;  and,  by  peeling  away,  left  the  skin  so  thin 
and  tender  that  neither  his  hands  nor  feet  were  able  to  per- 
form their  functions;  so  that  the  poor  object  was  half  his 
time  on  crutches,  incapable  of  employ,  and  languishing  in  a 
tiresome  state  of  indolence  and  inactivity.  His  habit  was 
lean,  lank,  and  cadaverous.  In  this  sad  plight  he  dragged  on 
a  miserable  existence,  a  burden  to  himself  and  his  parish, 
which  was  obliged  to  support  him  till  he  was  relieved  by  death 
at  more  than  thirty  years  of  age. 

The  good  women,  who  love  to  account  for  every  defect  in 
children  by  the  doctrine  of  longing,  said  that  his  mother  felt 
a  violent  propensity  for  oysters,  which  she  was  unable  to 
gratify  ;  and  that  the  black  rough  scurf  on  his  hands  and 
feet  were  the  shells  of  that  fish.  We  knew  his  parents,  nei- 
ther of  which  were  lepers ;  his  father  in  particular  lived  to 
be  far  advanced  in  years. 

In  all  ages  the  leprosy  has  made  dreadful  havoc  among 
mankind.  The  Israelites  seem  to  have  been  greatly  afflicted 
with  it  from  the  most  remote  times,  as  appears  from  the  pecul- 
iar and  repeated  injunctions  given  them  in  the  Levitical  law.^ 
Nor  was  the  rancor  of  this  foul  disorder  much  abated  in  the 
last  period  of  their  commonwealth,  as  may  be  seen  in  many 
passages  of  the  New  Testament, 

Some  centuries  ago  this  horrible  distemper  prevailed  all 
Europe  over  :  and  our  forefathers  were  by  no  means  exempt, 
as  appears  by  the  large  provision  made  for  objects  laboring 
under  this  calamity.  There  was  an  hospital  for  female  lepers 
in  the  diocese  of  Lincoln  ;  a  noble  one  near  Durham  ;  three 
in  London  and  Southwark  ;  and  perhaps  many  more  in  or  near 
our  great  towns  and  cities.  Moreover,  some  crowned  heads, 
13 


178  WHITE 

and  other  wealthy  and  charitable  personages,  bequeathed 
large  legacies  to  such  poor  people  as  languished  under  this 
hopeless  infirmity. 

It  must,  therefore,  in  these  days  be  to  a  humane  and  think- 
ing person  a  matter  of  equal  wonder  and  satisfaction,  when 
he*  contemplates  how  nearly  this  pest  is  eradicated,  and  ob- 
serves that  a  leper  now  is  a  rare  sight.     He  will,  moreover, 
when  engaged  in  such  a  train  of  thought  naturally  inquire 
for   the   reason.      This  happy  change,   perhaps,  may  have 
originated  and  been  continued  from  the  much   smaller  quan- 
tity of  salted  meat  and  fish  now  eaten  in  these  kingdoms ; 
from  the  use  of  linen  next  the  skin  ;  from  the  plenty  of  better 
bread  ;  and  from  the  profusion  of  fruits,  roots,  legumes,  and 
greens,  so  common  in  every  family.     Three  or  four  centuries 
ago,  before  there  were  any  enclosures,   sown-grasses,  field- 
turnips,  or  field-carrots,  or  hay,  all  the  cattle  which  had  grown 
fat  in  summer,  and  were  not  killed  for  winter  use,  were  turned 
out  soon  after  Michaelmas  to  shift  as  they  could  through  the 
dead  months  ;  so  that  no  fresh  meat  could  be  had  in  winter 
or  spring.     Hence  the  marv^ellous  account  of  the  vast  stores 
of  salted  flesh  found  in  the  larder  of  the  eldest  Spencer  2  in 
the  days  of  Edward  H.,  even  so  late  in  the  spring  as  the  3rd 
May.     It  was  from  magazines  like  these  that  the  turbulent 
barons  supported  in  idleness  their  riotous  swarms  of  retainers 
ready  for  any  disorder  or  mischief.     But  agriculture  is  now 
arrived  at  such  a  pitch  of  perfection  that  our  best  and  fattest 
meats  are  killed  in  the  winter  ;  and  no  man  need  eat  salted 
flesh  unless  he  prefers  it,  that  has  money  to  buy  fresh. 

One  cause  of  this  distemper  might  be,  no  doubt,  the  quan- 
tity of  wretched  fresh  and  salt  fish  consumed  by  the  common- 
alty at  all  seasons  as  well  as  in  Lent ;  which  our  poor  now 
would  hardly  be  persuaded  to  touch. 

The  use  of  Unen  changes,  shirts  or  shifts,  in  the  room  of 
sordid  and  filthy  woollen,  long  worn  next  the  skin,  is  a  matter 
of  neatness  comparatively  modern  ;  but  must  prove  a  great 
means  of  preventing  cutaneous  ails.  At  this  very  time  woollen, 
instead  of  linen,  prevails  among  the  poorer  Welsh,  who  are 
subject  to  foul  eruptions. 

The  plenty  of  good  wheaten  bread  that  now  is  found  among 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  179 

all  ranks  of  people  in  the  south,  instead  of  that  miserable  sort 
which  used  in  old  days  to  be  made  of  barley  or  beans,  may  con- 
tribute not  a  little  to  the  sweetening  their  blood  and  correcting 
their  juices;  for  the  inhabitants  of  mountainous  districts  to 
this  day  are  still  Hable  to  the  itch  and  other  cutaneous  dis- 
orders, from  a  wretchedness  and  poverty  of  diet. 

As  to  the  produce  of  a  garden,  every  middle-aged  person 
of  observation  may  perceive,  within  his  own  memory,  both  in 
town  and  country,  how  vastly  the  consumption  of  vegetables 
IS  increased.     Green-stalls  in  cities  now  support  multitudes  in 
a  comfortable  state,  while  gardeners  get   fortunes.     Every 
decent  laborer  also  has  his  garden,  which  is  half  his  support 
as  well  as  his  delight;  and  common  farmers  provide  plenty 
of  beans,  peas,  and  greens  for  their  hinds  to  eat  with  their 
bacon  ;  and  those  few  that  do  not  are  despised  for  their  sor- 
did parsimony,  and  looked  upon  as  regaidless  of  the  welfare 
of  their  dependants.     Potatoes  have  prevailed  in  this  little  dis- 
trict by  means  of  premiums  within  these  twenty  years  only  • 
and  are  much  esteemed  here  now  by  the  poor,  who  would 
scarce  have  ventured  to  taste  them  in  the  last  reign. 

Our  Saxon  ancestors  certainly  had  some  sort  of  cabbage 
because  they  call  the  month  of  February  "  sprout-cale ;  "  but 
long  after  their  days  the  cultivation  of  gardens  was  little 
attended  to.  The  religious,  being  men  of  leisure,  and  keeping 
up  a  constant  correspondence  with  Italy,  were  the  first  people 
among  us  that  had  gardens  and  fruit-trees  in  any  perfection 
withm  the  wall  of  their  abbeys  ^  and  priories.  The  barons 
neglected  every  pursuit  that  did  not  lead  to  war  or  tend  to 
the  pleasure  of  the  chase. 

It  was  not  till  gentlemen  took  up  the  study  of  horticulture 
themselves  that  the  knowledge  of  gardening  made  such  hasty 
advances.  Lord  Cobham,  Lord  Ila,  and  Mr.  Waller,  of  Bea- 
consfield,  were  some  of  the  first  people  of  rank  that  promoted 
the  elegant  science  of  ornamenting  without  despising  the 
superintendence  of  the  kitchen  quarters  and  fruit  walls. 

A  remark  made  by  the  excellent  Mr.  Ray,  in  his  "  Tour  of 
Europe,"  at  once  surprises  us,  and  corroborates  what  has  been 
advanced  above  ;  for  we  find  him  observing  so  late  as  his  days 
that  "  the  Italians  use  several  herbs  for  sallets,  which  are  not 


l8o  WHITE 

yet,  or  have  not  been  but  lately,  used  in  England,  viz.,  selleri 
(celery),  which  is  nothing  else  but  the  sweet  smallage ;  the 
young  shoots  whereof,  with  a  little  of  the  head  of  the  root  cut 
off,  they  eat  raw  with  oil  and  pepper ; "  and  further  adds : 
"  curled  endive  blanched  is  much  used  beyond  seas ;  and  for 
a  raw  sallet,  seemed  to  excell  lettuce  itself."  Now  this  jour- 
ney was  undertaken  no  longer  ago  than  in  the  year  1663. 

I  am,  etc. 
Notes 

'  See  Lev.  xiii.,  xiv.  —  G.  W. 

2  Viz.,  six  hundred  bacons,  eighty  carcasses  of  beef,  and  six  hundred  mut- 
tons.—G.  W. 

8  "  In  monasteries  the  lamp  of  knowledge  continued  to  burn,  however 
dimly.  In  them  men  of  business  were  formed  for  the  state :  the  art  of 
writing  was  cultivated  by  the  monks ;  they  were  the  only  proficients  in 
mechanics,  gardening,  and  architecture."  Dalrymple's  Annals  of  Scot- 
land.—  G.  W. 


LETTER   XXXVIII 

Selborne,  Feb.  \2th,  1778. 

"  Yorih  puer,  comitum  seductus  ab  agmine  fido, 
Dixerat,  ecquis  adest  ?  et,  adest,  responderat  echo. 
Hie  stupet  ;  utque  aciem  partes  divisit  in  omnes ; 
Voce,  veni,  clamat  magna.     Vocat  ilia  vocantem."  ^ 

Dear  Sir,  —  In  a  district  so  diversified  as  this,  so  full  of 
hollow  vales  and  hanging  woods,  it  is  no  wonder  that  echoes 
should  abound.  Many  we  have  discovered  that  return  the  cry 
of  a  pack  of  dogs,  the  notes  of  a  hunting-horn,  a  tunable  ring 
of  bells,  or  the  melody  of  birds  very  agreeably;  but  we  were 
still  at  a  loss  for  a  polysyllabical  articulate  echo,  till  a  young 
gentleman,  who  had  parted  from  his  company  in  a  summer 
evening  walk,  and  was  calling  after  them,  stumbled  upon  a 
very  curious  one  in  a  spot  where  it  might  least  be  expected. 
At  first  he  was  much  surprised,  and  could  not  be  persuaded 
but  that  he  was  mocked  by  some  boy;  but  repeating  his  trials 
in  several  languages,  and  finding  his  respondent  to  be  a  very 
adroit  polyglot,  he  then  discerned  the  deception. 

This  echo  in  an  evening,  before  rural  noises  cease,  would 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  l8l 

repeat  ten  syllables  most  articulately  and  distinctly,  especially 
if  quick  dactyls  were  chosen.     The  last  syllables  of 

"  Tityre,  tu  patulae  recubans  "... 

were  as  audibly  and  intelligibly  returned  as  the  first;  and  there 
is  no  doubt,  could  trial  have  been  made,  but  that  at  midnight, 
when  the  air  is  very  elastic,  and  a  dead  stillness  prevails,  one 
or  two  syllables  more  might  have  been  obtained  ;  but  the  dis- 
tance rendered  so  late  an  experiment  very  inconvenient. 

Quick  dactyls,  we  observed,  succeeded  best ;  for  when  we 
came  to  try  its  powers  in  slow,  heavy,  embarrassed  spondees 
of  the  same  number  of  syllables, 

"  Monstrum  horrendum,  informe,  ingens,"     .     .     . 

we  could  perceive  a  return  but  of  four  or  five. 

All  echoes  have  some  one  place  to  which  they  are  returned 
stronger  and  more  distinct  than  to  any  other;  and  that  is  always 
the  place  that  lies  at  right  angles  with  the  object  of  repercus- 
sion, and  is  not  too  near,  nor  too  far  off.  Buildings,  or  naked 
rocks,  re-echo  much  more  articulately  than  hanging  woods  or 
vales ;  because  in  the  latter  the  voice  is  as  it  were  entangled 
and  embarrassed  in  the  covert,  and  weakened  in  the  rebound. 

The  true  object  of  this  echo,  as  we  found  by  various  experi- 
ments, is  the  stone-built,  tiled  hop-kiln  in  Gaily  Lane,  which 
measures  in  front  forty  feet,  and  from  the  ground  to  the  eaves 
twelve  feet.  The  true  centrum  phoniciivt,  or  just  distance,  is 
one  particular  spot  in  the  King's  Field,  in  the  path  to  Nore  Hill 
on  the  very  brink  of  the  steep  balk  above  the  hollow  cart-way. 
In  this  case  there  is  no  choice  of  distance ;  but  the  path,  by 
mere  contingency,  happens  to  be  the  lucky,  the  identical  spot, 
because  the  ground  rises  or  falls  so  immediately,  if  the  speaker 
either  retires  or  advances,  that  his  mouth  would  at  once  be  above 
or  below  the  object. 

We  measured  this  polysyllabical  echo  with  great  exactness, 
and  found  the  distance  to  fall  very  short  of  Dr.  Plot's  rule  for 
distinct  articulation ;  for  the  Doctor,  in  his  history  of  Oxford- 
shire, allows  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  for  the  return  of  each 
syllable  distinctly ;  hence  this  echo,  which  gives  ten  distinct 
syllables,  ought  to  measure  four  hundred  yards,  or  one  hun- 


1 82  WHITE 

dred  and  twenty  feet  to  each  syllable ;  whereas  our  distance 
is  only  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  yards,  or  near  seventy-five 
feet,  to  each  syllable.  Thus  our  measure  falls  short  of  the 
Doctor's,  as  five  to  eight ;  but  then  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  this  candid  philosopher  was  convinced  afterwards  that 
some  latitude  must  be  admitted  of  in  the  distance  of  echoes 
according  to  time  and  place. 

When  experiments  of  this  sort  are  making,  it  should  always 
be  remembered  that  weather  and  the  time  of  day  have  a  vast 
influence  on  an  echo ;  for  a  dull,  heavy,  moist  air  deadens  and 
clogs  the  sound ;  and  hot  sunshine  renders  the  air  thin  and 
weak,  and  deprives  it  of  all  its  springiness,  and  a  ruffling  wind 
quite  defeats  the  whole.  In  a  still,  clear,  dewy  evening  the 
air  is  most  elastic  ;  and  perhaps  the  later  the  hour  the  more  so. 

Echo  has  always  been  so  amusing  to  the  imagination,  that 
the  poets  have  personified  her;  and  in  their  hands  she  has 
been  the  occasion  of  many  a  beautiful  fiction.  Nor  need  the 
gravest  man  be  ashamed  to  appear  taken  with  such  a  phe- 
nomenon, since  it  may  become  the  subject  of  philosophical  or 
mathematical  inquiries. 

One  should  have  imagined  that  echoes,  if  not  entertaining, 

must  at  least  have  been  harmless  and  inoffensive;  yet  Virgil 

advances  a  strange  notion  that  they  are  injurious  to  bees. 

After  enumerating  some  probable  and  reasonable  annoyances, 

such  as  prudent  owners  would  wish  far  removed  from  their 

bee-gardens,  he  adds :  — 

.     .     .     "  aut  ubi  concava  pulsu 
Saxa  sonant,  vocisque  offensa  resultat  imago." 

This  wild  and  fanciful  assertion  will  hardly  be  admitted  by 
the  philosophers  of  these  days,  especially  as  they  all  now  seem 
agreed  that  insects  are  not  furnished  with  any  organs  of  hear- 
ing at  all.  But  if  it  should  be  urged,  that  though  they  cannot 
hear  yet  perhaps  they  may  feel  the  repercussions  of  sounds, 
I  grant  it  is  possible  they  may.  Yet  that  these  impressions 
are  distasteful  or  hurtful,  I  deny,  because  bees,  in  good  sum- 
mers, thrive  well  in  my  outlet,  where  the  echoes  are  very  strong; 
for  this  village  is  another  Anathoth,  a  place  of  responses  and 
echoes.    Besides,  it  does  not  appear  from  experiment  that  bees 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  I 83 

are  in  any  way  capable  of  being  affected  by  sounds ;  for  I  have 
often  tried  my  own  with  a  large  speaking-trumpet  held  close 
to  their  hives,  and  with  such  an  exertion  of  voice  as  would 
have  hailed  a  ship  at  the  distance  of  a  mile,  and  still  these 
insects  pursued  their  various  employments  undisturbed,  and 
without  showing  the  least  sensibility  or  resentment. 

Sometime  since  its  discovery  this  echo  is  become  totally 
silent,  though  the  object,  or  hop-kiln,  remains;  nor  is  there  any 
mystery  in  this  defect ;  for  the  field  between  is  planted  as  a 
hop-garden,  and  the  voice  of  the  speaker  is  totally  absorbed 
and  lost  among  the  poles  and  entangled  foliage  of  the  hops. 
And  when  the  poles  are  removed  in  autumn  the  disappoint- 
ment is  the  same ;  because  a  tall  quick-set  hedge,  nurtured  up 
for  the  purpose  of  shelter  to  the  hop  ground,  entirely  inter- 
rupts the  impulse  and  repercussion  of  the  voice ;  so  that  till 
those  obstructions  are  removed  no  more  of  its  garrulity  can  be 
expected. 

Should  any  gentleman  of  fortune  think  an  echo  in  his  park 
or  outlet  a  pleasing  incident,  he  might  build  one  at  little  or  no 
expense.  For  whenever  he  had  occasion  for  a  new  barn, 
stable,  dog-kennel,  or  the  like  structure,  it  would  be  only  need- 
ful to  erect  this  building  on  the  gentle  declivity  of  a  hill,  with 
a  like  rising  opposite  to  it,  at  a  few  hundred  yards'  distance ; 
and  perhaps  success  might  be  the  easier  insured  could  some 
canal,  lake,  or  stream  intervene.  From  a  seat  at  the  centrum 
phojiicum  he  and  his  friends  might  amuse  themselves  some- 
times of  an  evening  with  the  prattle  of  this  loquacious  nymph  ; 
of  whose  complacency  and  decent  reserve  more  may  be  said 
than  can  with  truth  of  every  individual  of  her  sex ;  since  she 

is  — 

.     .     .     "quae  nee  reticere  loquenti. 
Nee  prior  ipsa  loqui  didieit  resonabilis  echo." 

I  am,  etc. 

P.S.  —  The  classic  reader  will,  I  trust,  pardon  the  following 
lovely  quotation,  so  finely  describing  echoes,  and  so  poetically 
accounting  for  their  causes  from  popular  superstition :  — 

"  QuEe  bene  quom  videas,  rationem  reddere  possis 
Tute  tibi  atque  aliis,  quo  pacto  per  loca  sola 


1 84  WHITE 

Saxa  paries  formas  verborum  ex  ordine  reddant, 
Palanteis  comites  quom  monteis  inter  opacos 
Quaerimus,  et  magna  disperses  voce  ciemus. 
Sex  etiam,  aut  septem  loca  vidi  reddere  voces 
Unam  quom  jaceres  :  ita  colles  collibus  ipsis 
Verba  repulsantes  iterabant  dicta  referre. 
Hccc  loca  capripedes  Satyros,  Nymphasque  tenere 
Finitimi  fingunt,  et  Faunos  esse  loquuntur ; 
Quorum  noctivago  strepitu,  ludoque  jocanti 
Adfirmant  volgo  taciturna  silentia  rumpi, 
Chordarumque  sonos  fieri,  dulceisque  querelas, 
Tibia  quas  fundit  digitis  pulsata  canentum  : 
Et  genus  agricolum  late  sentiscere,  quom  Pan 
Pinea  semiferi  capitis  velamina  quassans, 
Unco  ssepe  labro  calamos  percurrit  hianteis, 
Fistula  silvestrem  ne  cesset  fundere  musam."^ 

—  Lucretius,  Lib.  iv.  1.  576. 

Notes 

1  "  Chance  parts  the  youth  from  his  companions  dear, 

He  cries  '  Who's  here  ? '  and  Echo  answers  '  Here ; ' 

He  stares  around,  and  for  a  while  stands  dumb, 

Then  shouts  out  'Come,'  and  Echo  answers  'Come.'"  —  G.  W. 

2  "  Whence  may'st  thou  solve,  ingenuous !  to  the  world 

The  rise  of  echoes,  formed  in  desert  scenes. 

Mid  rocks,  and  mountains,  mocking  every  sound, 

When  late  we  wander  through  their  solemn  glooms, 

And,  with  loud  voice,  some  lost  companion  call. 

And  oft  re-echoes  echo  till  the  peal 

Rings  seven  times  round  ;  so  rock  to  rock  repels 

The  mimic  shout,  reiterated  close. 

"  Here  haunt  the  goat-foot  satyrs,  and  the  nymphs, 
As  rustics  tell,  and  fauns  whose  frolic  dance, 
And  midnight  revels  oft,  they  say,  are  heard 
Breaking  the  noiseless  silence ;  while  soft  strains 
Melodious  issue,  and  the  vocal  band 
Strike  to  their  madrigals  the  plaintive  lyre. 
Such,  feign  they,  sees  the  shepherd  obvious  oft. 
Led  on  by  Pan,  with  pine-leaved  garland  crowned 
And  seven-mouthed  reed  his  laboring  lip  beneath, 
Waking  the  woodland  muse  with  ceaseless  song." 

— J.  Mason  Good. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  18$ 


LETTER   XXXIX 

Selborne,  May  i^th,  1778. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Among  the  many  singularities  attending  those 
amusing  birds  the  swifts,  I  am  now  confirmed  in  the  opinion 
that  we  have  every  year  the  same  number  of  pairs  invariably ; 
at  least  the  result  of  my  inquiry  has  been  exactly  the  same  for 
a  long  time  past.  The  swallows  and  martins  are  so  numerous, 
and  so  widely  distributed  over  the  village,  that  it  is  hardly  pos- 
sible to  recount  them ;  while  the  swifts,  though  they  do  not 
build  in  the  church,  yet  so  frequently  haunt  it,  and  play  and 
rendezvous  round  it,  that  they  are  easily  enumerated.  The 
number  that  I  constantly  find  are  eight  pairs ;  about  half  of 
which  reside  in  the  church,  and  the  rest  build  in  some  of  the 
lowest  and  meanest  thatched  cottages.  Now  as  these  eight 
pairs,  allowance  being  made  for  accidents,  breed  yearly  eight 
pairs  more,  what  becomes  annually  of  this  increase,  and  what 
determines  every  spring  which  pairs  shall  visit  us  and  reoc- 
cupy  their  ancient  haunts  .-• 

Ever  since  I  have  attended  to  the  subject  of  ornithology,  I 
have  always  supposed  that  that  sudden  reverse  of  affection, 
that  strange  avrLaTopy-q,  which  immediately  succeeds  in  the 
feathered  kind  to  the  most  passionate  fondness,  is  the  occa- 
sion of  an  equal  dispersion  of  birds  over  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Without  this  provision  one  favorite  district  would  be  crowded 
with  inhabitants,  while  others  would  be  destitute  and  forsaken. 
But  the  parent  birds  seem  to  maintain  a  jealous  superiority,  and 
to  oblige  the  young  to  seek  for  new  abodes ;  and  the  rivalry 
of  the  males  in  many  kinds  prevents  their  crowding  the  one  on 
the  other.  Whether  the  swallows  and  house-martins  return  in 
the  same  exact  number  annually  is  not  easy  to  say,  for  reasons 
given  above  ;  but  it  is  apparent,  as  I  have  remarked  before  in 
my  monographies,  that  the  numbers  returning  bear  no  man- 
ner of  proportion  to  the  numbers  retiring. 


1 86  WHITE 


LETTER  XL 

Selborne,  June  2nd,  1778. 

Dear  Sir,  —  The  standing  objection  to  botany  has  always 
been  that  it  is  a  pursuit  that  amuses  the  fancy  and  exercises 
the  memory,  without  improving  the  mind  or  advancing  any 
real  knowledge ;  and,  where  the  science  is  carried  no  farther 
than  a  mere  systematic  classification,  the  charge  is  but  too  true. 
But  the  botanist  that  is  desirous  of  wiping  off  this  aspersion 
should  be  by  no  means  content  with  a  list  of  names  ;  he  should 
study  plants  philosophically,  should  investigate  the  laws  of 
vegetation,  should  examine  the  powers  and  virtues  of  effica- 
cious herbs,  should  promote  their  cultivation,  and  graft  the 
gardener,  the  planter,  and  the  husbandman,  on  the  phytolo- 
gist.  Not  that  system  is  by  any  means  to  be  thrown  aside ; 
without  system  the  field  of  nature  would  be  a  pathless  wil- 
derness ;  but  system  should  be  subservient  to,  not  the  main 
object  of,  pursuit. 

Vegetation  is  highly  worthy  of  our  attention  ;  and  in  itself 
is  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  mankind,  and  productive  of 
many  of  the  greatest  comforts  and  elegances  of  life.  To 
plants  we  owe  timber,  bread,  beer,  honey,  wine,  oil,  linen, 
cotton,  etc.,  what  not  only  strengthens  our  hearts,  and  exhila- 
rates our  spirits,  but  what  secures  us  from  inclemencies  of 
weather  and  adorns  our  persons.  Man,  in  his  true  state  of 
nature,  seems  to  be  subsisted  by  spontaneous  vegetation ;  in 
middle  climes,  where  grasses  prevail,  he  mixes  some  animal 
food  with  the  produce  of  the  field  and  garden ;  and  it  is  tow- 
ards the  polar  extremes  only  that,  like  his  kindred  bears  and 
wolves,  he  gorges  himself  with  flesh  alone,  and  is  driven  to 
what  hunger  has  never  been  known  to  compel  the  very  beasts, 
to  prey  on  his  own  species.^ 

The  productions  of  vegetation  have  had  a  vast  influence  on 
the  commerce  of  nations,  and  have  been  the  great  promoters 
of  navigation,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  articles  of  sugar,  tea, 
tobacco,  opium,  ginseng,  betel,  paper,  etc.  As  every  climate 
has  its  peculiar  produce,  our  natural  wants  bring  on  a  mutual 
intercourse ;  so  that  by  means  of  trade  each  distinct  part  is 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  187 

supplied  with  the  growth  of  every  latitude.  But,  without  the 
knowledge  of  plants  and  their  culture,  we  must  have  been 
content  with  our  hips  and  haws,  without  enjoying  the  delicate 
fruits  of  India  and  the  salutiferous  drugs  of  Peru. 

Instead  of  examining  the  minute  distinctions  of  every  vari- 
ous species  of  each  obscure  genus,  the  botanist  should  en- 
deavor to  make  himself  acquainted  with  those  that  are  useful. 
You  shall  see  a  man  readily  ascertain  every  herb  of  the  field, 
yet  hardly  know  wheat  from  barley,  or  at  least  one  sort  of 
wheat  or  barley  from  another. 

But  of  all  sorts  of  vegetation  the  grasses  seem  to  be  most  neg- 
lected ;  neither  the  farmer  nor  the  grazier  seems  to  distinguish 
the  annual  from  the  perennial,  the  hardy  from  the  tender,  nor 
the  succulent  and  nutritive  from  the  dry  and  juiceless. 

The  study  of  grasses  would  be  of  great  consequence  to  a 
northerly  and  grazing  kingdom.  The  botanist  that  could  im- 
prove the  sward  of  the  district  where  he  lived  would  be  a 
useful  member  of  society :  to  raise  a  thick  turf  on  a  naked  soil 
would  be  worth  volumes  of  systematic  knowledge ;  and  he 
would  be  the  best  commonwealth's  man  that  could  occasion 
the  growth  of  "  two  blades  of  grass  where  one  alone  was  seen 

before."  I  am,  etc. 

Note 

^  Man  seems  to  have  a  natural  craving  for  fresh  meat,  and  in  some  parts 
of  Africa  where  vegetable  food  is  in  plenty  and  even  luxuriance,  but  animal 
food  is  not  so  easily  obtained,  the  desire  to  eat  flesh  causes  cannibalism. 
It  is  not  hunger,  because  hunger  could  be  satisfied  by  vegetable  food,  but 
an  irresistible  craving  for  meat.  The  same  cause  may  first  have  given  rise 
to  the  odious  custom  in  some  of  the  South  Sea  Islands.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XLI 

Selborne,/«/k  3^<^,  177^- 
Dear  Sir,  —  In  a  district  so  diversified  with  such  a  variety 
of  hill  and  dale,  aspects,  and  soils,  it  is  no  wonder  that  great 
choice  of  plants  should  be  found.  Chalks,  clays,  sands,  sheep- 
walks  and  downs,  bogs,  heaths,  wood-lands,  and  champaign 
fields  cannot  but  furnish  an  ample  Flora.     The  deep  rocky 


l88  WHITE 

lanes  abound  with  filices^  and  the  pastures  and  moist  woods 
\i\\.)\  fungi.  If  in  any  branch  of  botany  we  may  seem  to  be 
wanting,  it  must  be  in  the  large  aquatic  plants,  which  are  not 
to  be  expected  on  a  spot  far  removed  from  rivers,  and  lying 
up  amidst  the  hill  country  at  the  spring  heads.  To  enumer- 
ate all  the  plants  that  have  been  discovered  within  our  limits 
would  be  a  needless  work ;  but  a  short  list  of  the  more  rare, 
and  the  spots  where  they  are  to  be  found,  may  be  neither  un- 
acceptable nor  unentertaining :  — 

Helleborus  foetidiis,  stinking  hellebore,  bear's  foot,  or  setter- 
worth,  —  all  over  the  High  Wood  and  Coneycroft  Hanger :  this 
continues  a  great  branching  plant  the  winter  through,  blossom- 
ing about  January,  and  is  very  ornamental  in  shady  walks  and 
shrubberies.  The  good  women  give  the  leaves  powdered  to 
children  troubled  with  worms ;  but  it  is  a  violent  remedy,  and 
ought  to  be  administered  with  caution. 

Helleborns  viridis,  green  hellebore,  —  in  the  deep  stony  lane 
on  the  left  hand  just  before  the  turning  to  Norton  Farm,  and 
at  the  top  of  Middle  Dorton  under  the  hedge :  this  plant  dies 
down  to  the  ground  early  in  autumn,  and  springs  again  about 
February,  flowering  almost  as  soon  as  it  appears  above  the 
ground. 

Vaccinium  oxycoccos,  creeping  bilberries,  or  cranberries,  —  in 
the  bogs  of  Bin's  Pond. 

Vaccinhim  niyrtilhis,  whortle,  or  bleaberries,  —  on  the  dry 
hillocks  of  Wolmer  Forest. 

Drosera  rotundifolia,  round-leaved  sundew, — in  the  bogs  of 
Bin's  Pond. 

Drosera  longifolia,  long-leaved  sundew, — in  the  bogs  of  Bin's 
Pond. 

Comartim  pahistre,  purple  comarum,  or  marsh  cinquefoil, — 
in  the  bogs  of  Bin's  Pond. 

Hypericum  androscsmum,  Tutsan,  St.  John's-wort,  —  in  the 
stony,  hollow  lanes. 

Vinca  minor,  less  periwinkle,  —  in  Selborne  Hanger  and 
Shrub  Wood. 

Monotropa  hypopithys,  yellow  monotropa,  or  bird's-nest,  — 
in  Selborne  Hanger  under  the  shady  beeches,  to  whose  roots  it 
seems  to  be  parasitical,  at  the  north-west  end  of  the  Hanger. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  1 89 

Chlora perfoliata,  Blackstonia perfoliata,  Hudsotii,  perfoliated 
yellowwort,  —  on  the  banks  in  the  King's  Field. 

Paris  quadrifolia,  herb  of  Paris,  true-love,  or  one-berry,  — 
in  the  Church-litten  coppice. 

Chrysosplcniiim  oppositifolmm,  opposite  golden  saxifrage,  — 
in  the  dark  and  rocky  hollow  lanes. 

Gentiana  aviarclla,  autumnal  gentian,  or  fellwort,  —  on  the 
Zigzag  and  Hanger. 

LatJircea  sqicaviaria,  tooth-wort,  —  in  the  church  litten 
coppice  under  some  hazels  near  the  foot-bridge,  in  Trimming's 
garden  hedge,  and  on  the  dry  wall  opposite  Grange-yard. 

Dipsaciis pilos2is,  small  teasel,  —  in  the  Short  and  Long  Lith. 

LatJiyriis  sylvestris,  narrow-leaved,  or  wild  lathyrus,  —  in  the 
bushes  at  the  foot  of  the  Short  Lith,  near  the  path. 

Oplirys  spiralis,  ladies'  traces,  —  in  the  Long  Lith,  and 
towards  the  south  corner  of  the  common. 

Ophrys  nidus  avis,  bird's-nest  ophrys,  —  in  the  Long  Lith 
under  the  shady  beeches  among  the  dead  leaves ;  in  Great 
Dorton  among  the  bushes,  and  on  the  Hanger  plentifully. 

Serapias  latifolia,  helleborine, — in  the  High  Wood  under  the 
shady  beeches. 

Daphne  laureola,  spurge  laurel,  —  in  Selborne  Hanger  and 
the  High  Wood. 

Daphne  niezerenm,  the  mezereon,  —  in  Selborne  Hanger 
among  the  shrubs,  at  the  south-east  end  above  the  cottages. 

Lycoperdon  Uiber,  truffles,  —  in  the  Hanger  and  High  Wood. 

Sambiicus  ebulns,  dwarf  elder,  walwort,  or  danewort,  — 
among  the  rubbish  and  ruined  foundations  of  the  Priory. 

Of  all  the  propensities  of  plants,  none  seem  more  strange 
than  their  different  periods  of  blossoming.  Some  produce 
their  flowers  in  the  winter,  or  very  first  dawnings  of  spring ; 
many  when  the  spring  is  established  ;  some  at  midsummer,  and 
some  not  till  autumn.  When  we  see  the  hellcborns  fa;tidus  and 
helleborus  niger  blowing  at  Christmas,  the  helleborus  hyeinalis 
in  January,  and  the  helleborus  viridis  as  soon  as  ever  it  emerges 
out  of  the  ground,  we  do  not  wonder,  because  they  are  kindred 
plants  that  we  expect  should  keep  pace  the  one  with  the  other  ; 
but  other  congenerous  vegetables  differ  so  widely  in  their  time 
of  flowering,  that  we  cannot  but  admire.     I  shall  only  instance 


igo  WHITE 

at  present  in  the  crocus  sativtis,  the  vernal  and  the  autumnal 
crocus,  which  have  such  an  affinity,  that  the  best  botanists 
only  make  them  varieties  of  the  same  genus,  of  which  there  is 
only  one  species,  not  being  able  to  discern  any  difference  in  the 
corolla,  or  in  the  internal  structure.  Yet  the  vernal  crocus 
expands  its  flowers  by  the  beginning  of  March  at  farthest,  and 
often  in  very  rigorous  weather  ;  and  cannot  be  retarded  but  by 
some  violence  offered ;  while  the  autumnal  (the  saffron)  defies 
the  influence  of  the  spring  and  summer,  and  will  not  blow  till 
most  plants  begin  to  fade  and  run  to  seed.  This  circumstance 
is  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  creation,  little  noticed  because  a 
common  occurrence  ;  yet  ought  not  to  be  overlooked  on  account 
of  its  being  familiar,  since  it  would  be  as  difficult  to  be  explained 
as  the  most  stupendous  phenomenon  in  nature. 

"  Say,  what  impels,  amidst  surrounding  snow 
Congealed,  the  crocus,  flamy  bud  to  grow? 
Say,  what  retards,  amidst  the  summer's  blaze, 
Th'  autumnal  bulb,  till  pale,  declining  days  ? 
The  God  of  Seasons,  whose  pervading  power 
Controls  the  sun,  or  sheds  the  fleecy  shower : 
He  bids  each  flower  His  quickening  word  obey, 
Or  to  each  lingering  bloom  enjoins  delay." 


LETTER   XLII 

"  Omnibus  animalibus  reliquis  certus  et  uniusmodi,  et  in  suo  cuique  genere 
incessus  est :  aves  sols  vario  meatu  feruntur,  et  in  terra,  et  in  aere." 

Selborne,  Aug.  jth,  1778. 

Dear  Sir,  —  A  good  ornithologist  should  be  able  to  distin- 
guish birds  by  their  air  as  well  as  by  their  colors  and  shape ; 
on  the  ground  as  well  as  on  the  wing  :  and  in  the  bush  as  well 
as  in  the  hand.  For,  though  it  must  not  be  said  that  every 
species  of  birds  has  a  manner  peculiar  to  itself,  yet  there  is 
somewhat  in  most  genera  at  least  that  at  first  sight  discrimi- 
nates them  and  enables  a  judicious  observer  to  pronounce  upon 
them  with  some  certainty.     Put  a  bird  in  motion 

.     .     .     "  Et  vera  incessu  patuit."     .     .     . 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  191 

Thus  kites  and  buzzards  sail  round  in  circles  with  wingfs 
expanded  and  motionless ;  and  it  is  from  their  gliding  manner 
that  the  former  are  still  called  in  the  north  of  England  gleads, 
from  the  Saxon  verb  glidan,  to  glide.  The  kestrel,  or  wind- 
hover, has  a  peculiar  mode  of  hanging  in  the  air  in  one  place, 
his  wings  all  the  while  being  briskly  agitated.  Hen  harriers 
fly  low  over  heaths  or  fields  of  corn,  and  beat  the  ground  regu- 
larly like  a  pointer  or  setting-dog.  Owls  move  in  a  buoyant 
manner,  as  if  lighter  than  the  air ;  they  seem  to  want  ballast. 
There  is  a  peculiarity  belonging  to  ravens  that  must  draw  the 
attention  even  of  the  most  incurious  —  they  spend  all  their 
leisure  time  in  striking  and  cuffing  each  other  on  the  wing  in 
a  kind  of  playful  skirmish  ;  and,  when  they  move  from  one 
place  to  another,  frequently  turn  on  their  backs  with  a  loud 
croak,  and  seem  to  be  falling  to  the  ground.  When  this  odd 
gesture  betides  them,  they  are  scratching  themselves  with  one 
foot,  and  thus  lose  the  centre  of  gravity.  Rooks  sometimes 
dive  and  tumble  in  a  frolicsome  manner ;  crows  and  daws 
swagger  in  their  walk ;  woodpeckers  fly  volatii  undoso,  open- 
ing and  closing  their  wings  at  every  stroke,  and  so  are  always 
rising  or  falling  in  curves.  All  of  this  genus  use  their  tails, 
which  incline  downward,  as  a  support  while  they  run  up  trees. 
Parrots,  like  all  other  hooked-clawed  birds,  walk  awkwardly, 
and  make  use  of  their  bill  as  a  third  foot,  climbing  and  de- 
scending with  ridiculous  caution.  All  the  gallincB  parade  and 
walk  gracefully,  and  run  nimbly ;  but  fly  with  difficulty,  with 
an  impetuous  whirring,  and  in  a  straight  line.  Magpies  and 
jays  flutter  with  powerless  wings,  and  make  no  despatch ; 
herons  seem  encumbered  with  too  much  sail  for  their  light 
bodies,  but  these  vast  hollov/  wings  are  necessary  in  carrying 
burdens,  such  as  large  fishes  and  the  like ;  ^  pigeons,  and  par- 
ticularly the  sort  called  smiters,  have  a  way  of  clashing  their 
wings  the  one  against  the  other  over  their  backs  with  a  loud 
snap ;  another  variety,  called  tumblers,  turn  themselves  over 
in  the  air.  Some  birds  have  movements  peculiar  to  the  season 
of  love :  thus  ring-doves,  though  strong  and  rapid  at  other 
times,  yet  in  the  spring  hang  about  on  the  wing  in  a  toying 
and  playful  manner ;  thus  the  cock  snipe  while  breeding,  for- 
getting his  former  flight,  fans  the  air  like  the  wind-hover; 


192  WHITE 

and  the  greenfinch,  in  particular,  exhibits  such  languishing 
and  faltering  gestures  as  to  appear  like  a  wounded  and  dying 
bird ;  the  kingfisher  darts  along  like  an  arrow ;  fern-owls,  or 
goat-suckers,  glance  in  the  dusk  over  the  tops  of  trees  like  a 
meteor  ;  starlings  as  it  were  swim  along,  while  missel-thrushes 
use  a  wild  and  desultory  flight ;  swallows  sweep  over  the  surface 
of  the  ground  and  water,  and  distinguish  themselves  by  rapid 
turns  and  quick  evolutions ;  swifts  dash  round  in  circles ;  and 
the  bank-martin  moves  with  frequent  vacillations  like  a  but- 
terfly. Most  of  the  small  birds  fly  by  jerks,  rising  and  falling 
as  they  advance.  Most  small  birds  hop ;  but  wagtails  and 
larks  walk,  moving  their  legs  alternately.  Skylarks  rise  and 
fall  perpendicularly  as  they  sing ;  woodlarks  hang  poised  in 
the  air ;  and  titlarks  rise  and  fall  in  large  curves,  singing  in 
their  descent.  The  whitethroat  uses  odd  jerks  and  gesticula- 
tions over  the  tops  of  hedges  and  bushes.  All  the  duck  kind 
waddle ;  divers  and  auks  walk  as  if  fettered,  and  stand  erect 
on  their  tails  ;  these  are  the  compedes  of  Linnaeus.  Geese  and 
cranes,  and  most  wild  fowls,  move  in  figured  flights,  often 
changing  their  position.  The  secondary  remiges  of  Tringae, 
wild-ducks,  and  some  others,  are  very  long,  and  give  their 
wings,  when  in  motion,  a  hooked  appearance.  Dabchicks, 
moor-hens,  and  coots  fly  erect,  with  their  legs  hanging  down, 
and  hardly  make  any  despatch ;  the  reason  is  plain:  their 
wings  are  placed  too  forward  out  of  the  true  centre  of  gravity, 
as  the  legs  of  auks  and  divers  are  situated  too  backward. 

Note 

1  The  flight  of  the  heron  seems  particularly  slow,  yet  the  beats  of  its 
wings  average  one  hundred  and  twenty  in  a  minute,  and  it  makes  very  rapid 
progress.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   XLIII 

Selborne,  Sept.  gth,  1778. 

Dear  Sir,  —  From  the  motion  of  birds,  the  transition  is 
natural  enough  to  their  notes  and  language,  of  which  I  shall 
say  something.  Not  that  I  would  pretend  to  understand 
their  language  like  the  vizier  who,  by  the  recital  of  a  conver- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  193 

sation  which  passed  between  two  owls,  reclaimed  a  sultan,^ 
before  delighting  in  conquest  and  devastation ;  but  I  would 
be  thought  only  to  mean  that  many  of  the  winged  tribes  have 
various  sounds  and  voices  adapted  to  express  their  various 
passions,  wants,  and  feelings ;  such  as  anger,  fear,  love, 
hatred,  hunger,  and  the  like.  All  species  are  not  equally 
eloquent ;  some  are  copious  and  fluent  as  it  were  in  their 
utterance,  while  others  are  confined  to  a  few  important 
sounds :  no  bird,  like  the  fish  kind,  is  quite  mute,  though 
some  are  rather  silent.  The  language  of  birds  is  very  ancient, 
and,  like  other  ancient  modes  of  speech,  very  elliptical ;  little 
is  said,  but  much  is  meant  and  understood. 

The  notes  of  the  eagle  kind  are  shrill  and  piercing;  and 
about  the  season  of  nidification  much  diversified,  as  I  have 
been  often  assured  by  a  curious  observer  of  nature,  who  long 
resided  at  Gibraltar,  where  eagles  abound.  The  notes  of  our 
hawks  much  resemble  those  of  the  king  of  birds.  Owls  have 
very  expressive  notes ;  they  hoot  in  a  fine  vocal  sound,  much 
resembling  the  vox  Jmniana,  and  reducible  by  a  pitch-pipe  to 
a  musical  key.  This  note  seems  to  express  complacency  and 
rivalry  among  the  males ;  they  use  also  a  quick  call  and  a 
horrible  scream ;  and  can  snore  and  hiss  when  they  mean  to 
menace.  Ravens,  besides  their  loud  croak,  can  exert  a  deep 
and  solemn  note  that  makes  the  woods  to  echo ;  the  amorous 
sound  of  a  crow  is  strange  and  ridiculous ;  rooks,  in  the  breed- 
ing season,  attempt  sometimes  in  the  gaiety  of  their  hearts  to 
sing,  but  with  no  great  success ;  the  parrot  kind  have  many 
modulations  of  voice,  as  appears  by  their  aptitude  to  learn 
human  sounds ;  doves  coo  in  an  amorous  and  mournful  man- 
ner, and  are  emblems  of  despairing  lovers ;  the  woodpecker 
sets  up  a  sort  of  loud  and  hearty  laugh  ;  the  fern-owl,  or  goat- 
sucker, from  the  dusk  till  daybreak,  serenades  his  mate  with 
the  clattering  of  castanets.  All  the  tuneful  passeres  express 
their  complacency  by  sweet  modulations  and  a  variety  of 
melody.  The  swallow,  as  has  been  observed  in  a  former 
letter,  by  a  shrill  alarm  bespeaks  the  attention  of  the  other 
hirundines,  and  bids  them  be  aware  the  hawk  is  at  hand. 
Aquatic  and  gregarious  birds,  especially  the  nocturnal,  that 
shift  their  quarters  in  the  dark,  are  very  noisy  and  loquacious ; 
'4 


194  WHITE 

as  cranes,  wild-geese,  wild-ducks,  and  the  like ;  their  perpet- 
ual clamor  prevents  them  from  dispersing  and  losing  their 
companions. 

In  so  extensive  a  subject,  sketches  and  outlines  are  as  much 
as  can  be  expected ;  for  it  would  be  endless  to  instance  in  all 
the  infinite  variety  of  the  feathered  nation.  We  shall  there- 
fore confine  the  remainder  of  this  letter  to  the  few  domestic 
fowls  of  our  yards,  which  are  most  known  and  therefore  best 
understood.  And  first  the  peacock,  with  his  gorgeous  train, 
demands  our  attention ;  but,  like  most  of  the  gaudy  birds,  his 
notes  are  grating  and  shocking  to  the  ear :  the  yelling  of  cats, 
and  the  braying  of  an  ass,  are  not  more  disgustful.  The  voice 
of  the  goose  is  trumpet-like  and  clanking,  and  once  saved  the 
Capitol  at  Rome,  as  grave  historians  assert ;  the  hiss,  also,  of 
the  gander  is  formidable  and  full  of  menace,  and  "  protective 
of  his  young."  Among  ducks  the  sexual  distinction  of  voice 
is  remarkable ;  for,  while  the  quack  of  the  female  is  loud  and 
sonorous,  the  voice  of  the  drake  is  inward  and  harsh,  and 
feeble,  and  scarce  discernible.  The  cock  turkey  struts  and  gob- 
bles to  his  mistress  in  a  most  uncouth  manner ;  he  hath  also 
a  pert  and  petulant  note  when  he  attacks  his  adversary. 
When  a  hen  turkey  leads  forth  her  young  brood  she  keeps  a 
watchful  eye ;  and  if  a  bird  of  prey  appear,  though  ever  so 
high  in  the  air,  the  careful  mother  announces  the  enemy  with 
a  little  inward  moan,  and  watches  him  with  a  steady  and 
attentive  look ;  but,  if  he  approach,  her  note  becomes  earnest 
and  alarming,  and  her  outcries  are  redoubled. 

No  inhabitants  of  a  yard  seem  possessed  of  such  a  variety 
of  expression  and  so  copious  a  language  as  common  poultry. 
Take  a  chicken  of  four  or  five  days  old,  and  hold  it  up  to  a 
window  where  there  are  flies,  and  it  will  immediately  seize  its 
prey,  with  little  twitterings  of  complacency ;  but  if  you  tender 
it  a  wasp  or  a  bee,  at  once  its  note  becomes  harsh,  and  expres- 
sive of  disapprobation  and  a  sense  of  danger.  When  a  pullet 
is  ready  to  lay  she  intimates  the  event  by  a  joyous  and  easy 
soft  note.  Of  all  the  occurrences  of  their  life  that  of  laying 
seems  to  be  the  most  important ;  for  no  sooner  has  a  hen  dis- 
burdened herself,  than  she  rushes  forth  with  a  clamorous  kind 
of  joy,  which  the  cock  and  the  rest  of  his  mistresses  immedi- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  195 

ately  adopt.  The  tumult  is  not  confined  to  the  family  con- 
cerned, but  catches  from  yard  to  yard,  and  spreads  to  every 
homestead  within  hearing,  till  at  last  the  whole  village  is  in 
an  uproar.  As  soon  as  a  hen  becomes  a  mother  her  new 
relation  demands  a  new  language  ;  she  then  runs  clocking  and 
screaming  about,  and  seems  agitated  as  if  possessed.  The 
father  of  the  flock  has  also  a  considerable  vocabulary ;  if  he 
finds  food,  he  calls  a  favorite  concubine  to  partake ;  and  if 
a  bird  of  prey  passes  over,  with  a  warning  voice  he  bids  his 
family  beware.  The  gallant  chanticleer  has,  at  command,  his 
amorous  phrases  and  his  terms  of  defiance.  But  the  sound 
by  which  he  is  best  known  is  his  crowing  :  by  this  he  has 
been  distinguished  in  all  ages  as  the  countryman's  clock  or 
larum,  as  the  watchman  that  proclaims  the  divisions  of  the 
night.     Thus  the  poet  elegantly  styles  him  — 

.     .     .     "  the  crested  cock,  whose  clarion  sounds 
The  silent  hours." 

A  neighboring  gentleman  one  summer  had  lost  most  of  his 
chickens  by  a  sparrow-hawk,  that  came  gliding  down  between 
a  faggot  pile  and  the  end  of  his  house  to  the  place  where  the 
coops  stood.  The  owner,  inwardly  vexed  to  see  his  flock  thus 
diminished,  hung  a  setting-net  adroitly  between  the  pile  and 
the  house,  into  which  the  caitiff  dashed  and  was  entangled. 
Resentment  suggested  the  law  of  retaliation ;  he  therefore 
clipped  the  hawk's  wings,  cut  off  his  talons,  and,  fixing  a  cork 
on  his  bill,  threw  him  down  among  the  brood  hens.  Imagina- 
tion cannot  paint  the  scene  that  ensued  ;  the  expressions  that 
fear,  rage,  and  revenge  inspired  were  new,  or  at  least  such 
as  had  been  unnoticed  before :  the  exasperated  matrons  up- 
braided, they  execrated,  they  insulted,  they  triumphed.  In  a 
word,  they  never  desisted  from  buffeting  their  adversary  till 
they  had  torn  him  in  a  hundred  pieces. 

Note 
1  See  Spectator,  Vol.  VII.,  No.  512.  — G.  W. 


196  WHITE 

LETTER   XLIV 

.     .     .     "Monstrent 
*  *  *  *  * 

Quid  tantum  Oceano  properent  se  tingere  soles 
Hyberni ;  vel  quae  tardis  mora  noctibus  obstet." 

Selborne. 

Gentlemen  who  have  outlets  might  contrive  to  make  orna- 
ments subservient  to  utility :  a  pleasing  eye-trap  might  also 
contribute  to  promote  science  :  an  obelisk  in  a  garden  or  park 
might  be  both  an  embellishment  and  an  heliotrope. 

Any  person  that  is  curious,  and  enjoys  the  advantage  of  a 
good  horizon,  might,  with  little  trouble,  make  two  heliotropes ; 
the  one  for  the  winter,  the  other  for  the  summer  solstice  :  and 
the  two  erections  might  be  constructed  with  very  little  expense ; 
for  two  pieces  of  timber  frame-work,  about  ten  or  twelve  feet 
high,  and  four  feet  broad  at  the  base,  and  close  lined  with 
plank,  would  answer  the  purpose. 

The  erection  for  the  former  should,  if  possible,  be  placed 
within  sight  of  some  window  in  the  common  sitting  parlor ; 
because  men,  at  that  dead  season  of  the  year,  are  usually  within 
doors  at  the  close  of  the  day ;  while  that  for  the  latter  might 
be  fixed  for  any  given  spot  in  the  garden  or  outlet ;  whence 
the  owner  might  contemplate,  in  a  fine  summer's  evening,  the 
utmost  extent  that  the  sun  makes  to  the  northward  at  the  sea- 
son of  the  longest  days.  Now  nothing  would  be  necessary  but 
to  place  these  two  objects  with  so  much  exactness,  that  the 
westerly  limb  of  the  sun,  at  setting,  might  but  just  clear  the 
winter  heliotrope  to  the  west  of  it  on  the  shortest  day ;  and 
that  the  whole  disc  of  the  sun,  at  the  longest  day,  might 
exactly  at  setting  also  clear  the  summer  heliotrope  to  the 
north  of  it. 

By  this  simple  expedient  it  would  soon  appear  that  there 
is  no  such  thing,  strictly  speaking,  as  a  solstice  ;  for,  from  the 
shortest  day,  the  owner  would,  every  clear  evening,  see  the  disc 
advancing  at  its  setting,  to  the  westward  of  the  object;  and, 
from  the  longest  day,  observe  the  sun  retiring  backwards  every 
evening  at  its  setting,  towards  the  object  westward,  till,  in  a 
few  nights,  it  would  set  quite  behind  it,  and  so  by  degrees,  to 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  I97 

the  west  of  it :  for  when  the  sun  comes  near  the  summer  sol- 
stice, the  whole  disc  of  it  would  at  first  set  behind  the  object ; 
after  a  time  the  northern  limb  would  first  appear,  and  so  every 
night  gradually  more,  till  at  length  the  whole  diameter  would 
set  northward  of  it  for  about  three  nights ;  but  on  the  middle 
night  of  the  three,  sensibly  more  remote  than  the  former  or 
following.  When  beginning  its  recess  from  the  summer  tropic, 
it  would  continue  more  and  more  to  be  hidden  every  night,  till 
at  length  it  would  descend  quite  behind  the  object  again ;  and 
so  nightly  more  and  more  to  the  westward. 


LETTER   XLV 

.     .     .     "  Mugire  videbis 
Sub  pedibus  terram,  et  descendere  montibus  ornos." 

Selborne. 

When  I  was  a  boy  I  used  to  read,  with  astonishment  and 
implicit  assent,  accounts  in  Baker's  "  Chronicle  "  of  walking 
hills  and  travelling  mountains.  John  Philips,  in  his  "  Cyder," 
alludes  to  the  credit  that  was  given  to  such  stories  with  a  deli- 
cate but  quaint  vein  of  humor  peculiar  to  the  author  of  the 
"Splendid  Shilling:"  — 

"  I  nor  advise,  nor  reprehend  the  choice 
Of  Marcely  Hill ;  the  apple  nowhere  finds 
A  kinder  mould ;  yet  'tis  unsafe  to  trust 
Deceitful  ground  ;  who  knows  but  that  once  more 
This  mount  may  journey,  and  his  present  site 
Forsaken,  to  thy  neighbor's  bounds  transfer 
Thy  goodly  plants,  affording  matter  strange 
For  law  debates  ?  " 

But,  when  I  came  to  consider  better,  I  began  to  suspect  that 
though  our  hills  may  never  have  journeyed  far,  yet  that  the 
ends  of  many  of  them  have  slipped  and  fallen  away  at  distant 
periods,  leaving  the  cliffs  bare  and  abrupt.  This  seems  to 
have  been  the  case  with  Nore  and  Whetham  hills ;  and 
especially  with  the  ridge  between  Harteley  Park  and  Ward 
le  Ham,  where  the  ground  has  slid  into  vast  swellings  and  fur- 


198  WHITE 

rows ;  and  lies  still  in  such  romantic  confusion  as  cannot  be 
accounted  for  from  any  other  cause.  A  strange  event,  that 
happened  not  long  since,  justifies  our  suspicions ;  which, 
though  it  befell  not  within  the  limits  of  this  parish,  yet  as  it 
was  within  the  hundred  of  Selborne,  and  as  the  circumstances 
were  singular,  may  fairly  claim  a  place  in  a  work  of  this  nature. 
The  months  of  January  and  February,  in  the  year  1774, 
were  remarkable  for  great  melting  snows  and  vast  gluts  of 
rain ;  so  that  by  the  end  of  the  latter  month  the  land-springs, 
or  lavants,  began  to  prevail,  and  to  be  near  as  high  as  in  the 
memorable  winter  of  1764.  The  beginning  of  March  also 
went  on  in  the  same  tenor ;  when,  in  the  night  between  the 
8th  and  9th  of  that  month,  a  considerable  part  of  the  great 
woody  hanger  at  Hawkley  was  torn  from  its  place,  and  fell 
down,  leaving  a  high  freestone  cliff  naked  and  bare,  and 
resembling  the  steep  side  of  a  chalk-pit.  It  appears  that  this 
huge  fragment,  being  perhaps  sapped  and  undermined  by 
waters,  foundered,  and  was  ingulfed,  going  down  in  a  perpen- 
dicular direction ;  for  a  gate  which  stood  in  the  field,  on  the 
top  of  the  hill,  after  sinking  with  its  posts  for  thirty  or  forty 
feet,  remained  in  so  true  and  upright  a  position  as  to  open  and 
shut  with  great  exactness,  just  as  in  its  first  situation.  Several 
oaks  also  are  still  standing,  and  in  a  state  of  vegetation,  after 
taking  the  same  desperate  leap.  That  great  part  of  this  pro- 
digious mass  was  absorbed  in  some  gulf  below  is  plain  also 
from  the  inclining  ground  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  which  is 
free  and  unencumbered,  but  would  have  been  buried  in  heaps 
of  rubbish  had  the  fragment  parted  and  fallen  forward. 
About  a  hundred  yards  from  the  foot  of  this  hanging  coppice 
stood  a  cottage  by  the  side  of  a  lane ;  and  two  hundred  yards 
lower,  on  the  other  side  of  the  lane,  was  a  farmhouse,  in 
which  lived  a  laborer  and  his  family;  and,  just  by,  a  stout  new 
barn.  The  cottage  was  inhabited  by  an  old  woman  and  her 
son  and  his  wife.  These  people  in  the  evening,  which  was 
very  dark  and  tempestuous,  observed  that  the  brick  floors  of 
their  kitchens  began  to  heave  and  part;  and  that  the  walls 
seemed  to  open,  and  the  roofs  to  crack ;  but  they  all  agree 
that  no  tremor  of  the  ground,  indicating  an  earthquake,  was 
ever  felt ;  only  that  the  wind  continued  to  make  a  most  tre- 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  199 

mendous  roaring  in  the  woods  and  hangers.  The  miserable 
inhabitants,  not  daring  to  go  to  bed,  remained  in  the  utmost 
solicitude  and  confusion,  expecting  every  moment  to  be  buried 
under  the  ruins  of  their  shattered  edifices.  When  daylight 
came  they  were  at  leisure  to  contemplate  the  devastations  of 
the  night :  they  then  found  that  a  deep  rift,  or  chasm,  had 
opened  under  their  houses,  and  torn  them,  as  it  were,  in  two; 
and  that  one  end  of  the  barn  had  suffered  in  a  similar  man- 
ner :  that  a  pond  near  the  cottage  had  undergone  a  strange 
reverse,  becoming  deep  at  the  shallow  end,  and  so  vice  versa; 
that  many  large  oaks  were  removed  out  of  their  perpendicu- 
lar, some  thrown  down,  and  some  fallen  into  the  heads  of 
neighboring  trees ;  and  that  a  gate  was  thrust  forward,  with 
its  hedge,  full  six  feet,  so  as  to  require  a  new  track  to  be  made 
to  it.  From  the  foot  of  the  cliff  the  general  course  of  the 
ground,  which  is  pasture,  inclines  in  a  moderate  descent  for 
half  a  mile,  and  is  interspersed  with  some  hillocks,  which  were 
rifted,  in  every  direction,  as  well  towards  the  great  woody 
hanger,  as  from  it.  In  the  first  pasture  the  deep  clefts  began ; 
and  running  across  the  lane,  and  under  the  buildings,  made 
such  vast  shelves  that  the  road  was  impassable  for  some  time ; 
and  so  over  to  an  arable  field  on  the  other  side,  which  was 
strangely  torn  and  disordered.  The  second  pasture  field, 
being  more  soft  and  springy,  was  protruded  forward  without 
many  fissures  in  the  turf,  which  was  raised  in  long  ridges 
resembling  graves,  lying  at  right  angles  to  the  motion.  At  the 
bottom  of  this  enclosure  the  soil  and  turf  rose  many  feet 
against  the  bodies  of  some  oaks  that  obstructed  their  farther 
course  and  terminated  this  awful  commotion. 

The  perpendicular  height  of  the  precipice  in  general  is 
twenty-three  yards ;  the  length  of  the  lapse  or  slip  as  seen 
from  the  fields  below,  one  hundred  and  eighty-one ;  and  a 
partial  fall,  concealed  in  the  coppice,  extends  seventy  yards 
more ;  so  that  the  total  length  of  this  fragment  that  fell  was 
two  hundred  and  fifty-one  yards.  About  fifty  acres  of  land 
suffered  from  this  violent  convulsion ;  two  houses  were  en- 
tirely destroyed  ;  one  end  of  a  new  barn  was  left  in  ruins,  the 
walls  being  cracked  through  the  very  stones  that  composed 
them ;  a  hanging  coppice  was  changed  to  a  naked  rock ;  and 


200  WHITE 


some  grass  grounds  and  an  arable  field  so  broken  and  rifted 
by  the  chasms  as  to  be  rendered  for  a  time  neither  fit  for  the 
plough  nor  safe  for  pasturage,  till  considerable  labor  and  ex- 
pense had  been  bestowed  in  levelling  the  surface  and  filling  in 
the  gaping  fissures. 


LETTER  XLVI 

"  resonant  arbusta." 

Selborne. 

There  is  a  steep,  abrupt  pasture  field  and  interspersed  with 
furze  close  to  the  back  of  this  village,  well  known  by  the  name 
of  Short  Lith,  consisting  of  a  rocky  dry  soil,  and  inclining  to 
the  afternoon  sun.  This  spot  abounds  with  the  grylliis  cam- 
Pestris,  or  field-cricket ;  which,  though  frequent  in  these  parts, 
is  by  no  means  a  common  insect  in  many  other  countries. 

As  their  cheerful  summer  cry  cannot  but  draw  the  attention 
of  a  naturalist,  I  have  often  gone  down  to  examine  the  economy 
of  these  ^/j/Zz,  and  study  their  mode  of  life  ;  but  they  are  so  shy 
and  cautious  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  get  a  sight  of  them ;  for 
feeling  a  person's  footsteps  as  he  advances,  they  stop  short  in 
the  midst  of  their  song,  and  retire  backward  nimbly  into  their 
burrows,  where  they  lurk  till  all  suspicion  of  danger  is  over. 

At  first  we  attempted  to  dig  them  out  with  a  spade,  but  with- 
out any  great  success  ;  for  either  we  could  not  get  to  the  bottom 
of  the  hole,  which  often  terminated  under  a  great  stone ;  or 
else  in  breaking  up  the  ground  we  inadvertently  squeezed  the 
poor  insect  to  death.  Out  of  one  so  bruised  we  took  a  multi- 
tude of  eggs,  which  were  long  and  narrow,  of  a  yellow  color, 
and  covered  with  a  very  tough  skin.  By  this  accident  we 
learned  to  distinguish  the  male  from  the  female ;  the  former 
of  which  is  shining  black,  with  a  golden  stripe  across  his  shoul- 
ders ;  the  latter  is  more  dusky,  more  capacious  about  the  ab- 
domen, and  carries  a  long,  sword-shaped  weapon  at  her  tail, 
which  probably  is  the  instrument  with  which  she  deposits  her 
eggs  in  crannies  and  safe  receptacles. 

Where  violent  methods  will  not  avail,  more  gentle  means 
will  often  succeed,  and  so  it  proved  in  the  present  case ;  for, 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  20I 

though  a  spade  be  too  boisterous  and  rough  an  implement,  a 
pliant  stock  of  grass,  gently  insinuated  into  the  caverns,  will 
probe  their  windings  to  the  bottom,  and  quickly  bring  out  the 
inhabitant ;  and  thus  the  humane  inquirer  may  gratify  his 
curiosity  without  injuring  the  object  of  it.  It  is  remarkable, 
that  though  these  insects  are  furnished  with  long  legs  behind, 
and  brawny  thighs  for  leaping,  like  grasshoppers ;  yet  when 
driven  from  their  holes  they  show  no  activity,  but  crawl  along 
in  a  shiftless  manner,  so  as  easily  to  be  taken ;  and  again, 
though  provided  with  a  curious  apparatus  of  wings,  yet  they 
never  exert  them  when  there  seems  to  be  the  greatest  occasion. 
The  males  only  make  that  shrilling  noise,  perhaps,  out  of 
rivalry  and  emulation,  as  is  the  case  with  many  animals  which 
exert  some  sprightly  note  during  their  breeding  time.  It  is 
raised  by  a  brisk  friction  of  one  wing  against  the  other.  They 
are  solitary  beings,  living  singly  male  and  female,  each  as  it 
may  happen ;  but  there  must  be  a  time  when  the  sexes  have 
some  intercourse,  and  then  the  wings  may  be  useful  perhaps 
during  the  hours  of  night.  When  the  males  meet  they  will 
fight  fiercely,  as  I  found  by  some  which  I  put  into  the  crevices 
of  a  dry  stone  wall,  where  I  should  have  been  glad  to  have 
made  them  settle.  For  though  they  seemed  distressed  by  be- 
ing taken  out  of  their  knowledge,  yet  the  first  that  got  posses- 
sion of  the  chinks  would  seize  on  any  others  that  were  intruded 
upon  them  with  a  vast  row  of  s^i  i  ated  fangs.  With  their  strong 
jaws,  toothed  like  the  shears  of  a  lobster's  claws,  they  perforate 
and  round  their  curious  regular  cells,  having  no  fore-claws  to 
dig,  like  the  mole-cricket.  When  taken  in  hand  I  could  not 
but  wonder  that  they  never  offered  to  defend  themselves, 
though  armed  with  such  formidable  weapons.  Of  such  herbs 
as  grow  before  the  mouths  of  their  burrows  they  eat  indis- 
criminately, and  on  a  little  platform  which  they  make  just  by 
they  drop  their  dung  ;  and  never,  in  the  day-time,  seem  to  stir 
more  than  two  or  three  inches  from  home.  Sitting  in  the  en- 
trance of  their  caverns  they  chirp  all  night  as  well  as  day  from 
the  middle  of  the  month  of  May  to  the  middle  of  July  ;  and  in 
hot  weather,  when  they  are  most  vigorous,  they  make  the  hills 
echo,  and  in  the  stiller  hours  of  darkness  may  be  heard  to  a  con- 
siderable distance.     In  the  beginning  of  the  season  their  notes 


202  WHITE 

are  more  faint  and  inward ;  but  become  louder  as  the  summer 
advances,  and  so  die  away  again  by  degrees. 

Sounds  do  not  always  give  us  pleasure  according  to  their 
sweetness  and  melody  ;  nor  do  harsh  sounds  always  displease. 
We  are  more  apt  to  be  captivated  or  disgusted  with  the  asso- 
ciations which  they  promote  than  with  the  notes  themselves. 
Thus  the  shrilling  of  the  field-cricket,  though  sharp  and  stridu- 
lous,  yet  marvellously  delights  some  hearers,  filling  their  minds 
with  a  train  of  summer  ideas  of  everything  that  is  rural,  ver- 
durous, and  joyous. 

About  the  loth  March  the  crickets  appear  at  the  mouths  of 
their  cells,  which  they  then  open  and  bore,  and  shape  very  ele- 
gantly. All  that  ever  I  have  seen  at  that  season  were  in  their 
pupa  state,  and  had  only  the  rudiments  of  wings,  lying  under 
a  skin  or  coat,  which  must  be  cast  before  the  insect  can  arrive 
at  its  perfect  state ;  from  whence  I  should  suppose  that  the 
old  ones  of  last  year  do  not  always  survive  the  winter.  In 
August  their  holes  begin  to  be  obliterated,  and  the  insects  are 
seen  no  more  till  spring. 

Not  many  summers  ago  I  endeavored  to  transplant  a  colony 
to  the  terrace  in  my  garden,  by  boring  deep  holes  in  the  slop- 
ing turf.  The  new  inhabitants  stayed  some  time,  and  fed  and 
sung  ;  but  wandered  away  by  degrees,  and  were  heard  at  a 
farther  distance  every  morning,  so  that  it  appears  that  on  this 
emergency  they  made  use  of  their  wings  in  attempting  to 
return  to  the  spot  from  which  they  were  taken. 

One  of  these  crickets  when  confined  in  a  paper  cage  and  set 
in  the  sun,  and  supplied  with  plants  moistened  with  water,  will 
feed  and  thrive,  and  become  so  merry  and  loud  as  to  be  irk- 
some in  the  same  room  where  a  person  is  sitting ;  if  the  plants 
are  not  wet  it  will  die. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  203 


LETTER   XLVII 

"  Far  from  all  resort  of  mirth 
Save  the  cricket  on  the  hearth." 

—  Milton's  //  Penseroso. 

Selborne. 

Dear  Sir,  —  While  many  other  insects  must  be  sought  after 
in  fields,  and  woods,  and  waters,  the  gryllus  doviesticus,  or 
house-cricket,  resides  altogether  within  our  dwellings,  intrud- 
ing itself  upon  our  notice  whether  we  will  or  no.  This  species 
delights  in  new-built  houses,  being,  like  the  spider,  pleased 
with  the  moisture  of  the  walls  ;  and  besides,  the  softness  of  the 
mortar  enables  them  to  burrow  and  mine  between  the  joints  of 
the  bricks  or  stones,  and  to  open  communications  from  one 
room  to  another.  They  are  particularly  fond  of  kitchens  and 
bakers'  ovens,  on  account  of  their  perpetual  warmth. 

Tender  insects  that  live  abroad  either  enjoy  only  the  short 
period  of  one  summer,  or  else  doze  away  the  cold,  uncomfort- 
able months  in  profound  slumbers ;  but  these,  residing  as  it 
were  in  a  torrid  zone,  are  always  alert  and  merry,  —  a  good 
Christmas  fire  is  to  them  like  the  heats  of  the  dog-days. 
Though  they  are  frequently  heard  by  day,  yet  is  their  natural 
time  of  motion  only  in  the  night.  As  soon  as  it  grows  dusk,  the 
chirping  increases,  and  they  come  running  forth,  and  are  from 
the  size  of  a  flea  to  that  of  their  full  stature.  As  one  should 
suppose,  from  the  burning  atmosphere  which  they  inhabit, 
they  are  a  thirsty  race,  and  show  a  great  propensity  for  liquids, 
being  found  frequently  drowned  in  pans  of  water,  milk,  broth, 
or  the  like.  Whatever  is  moist  they  affect ;  and  therefore  often 
gnaw  holes  in  wet  woollen  stockings  and  aprons  that  are  hung 
to  the  fire  :  they  are  the  housewife's  barometer,  foretelling  her 
when  it  will  rain,  and  are  prognostic  sometimes,  she  thinks,  of 
ill  or  good  luck,  of  the  death  of  a  near  relation,  or  the  approach 
of  an  absent  lover.  By  being  the  constant  companions  of  her 
solitary  hours  they  naturally  become  the  objects  of  her  super- 
stition. These  crickets  are  not  only  very  thirsty,  but  very 
voracious;  for  they  will  eat  the  scummings  of  pots,  and  yeast, 
salt,  and  crumbs  of  bread,  and  any  kitchen  offal  or  sweepings. 


204  WHITE 

In  the  summer  we  have  observed  them  to  fly,  when  it  became 
dusk,  out  of  the  windows  and  over  the  neighboring  roofs.  This 
feat  of  activity  accounts  for  the  sudden  manner  in  which  they 
often  leave  their  haunts,  as  it  does  for  the  method  by  which 
they  come  to  houses  where  they  were  not  known  before.  It 
is  remarkable  that  many  sorts  of  insects  seem  never  to  use 
their  wings  but  when  they  have  a  mind  to  shift  their  quarters 
and  settle  new  colonies.  When  in  the  air  they  move  "volatti 
nndoso,"  in  waves  or  curves,  like  woodpeckers,  opening  and 
shutting  their  wings  at  every  stroke,  and  so  are  always  rising 
or  sinking. 

When  they  increase  to  a  great  degree,  as  they  did  once  in 
the  house  where  I  am  now  writing,  they  become  noisome  pests, 
flying  into  the  candles,  and  dashing  into  people's  faces ;  but 
may  be  blasted  and  destroyed  by  gunpowder  discharged  into 
their  crevices  and  crannies.  In  families  at  such  times  they 
are  like  Pharaoh's  plague  of  frogs,  —  "  in  their  bedchambers, 
and  upon  their  beds,  and  in  their  ovens,  and  in  their  kneading 
troughs."  1  Their  shrilling  noise  is  occasioned  by  a  brisk  attri- 
tion of  their  wings.  Cats  catch  hearth-crickets,  and,  playing 
with  them  as  they  do  with  mice,  devour  them.  Crickets  may 
be  destroyed,  like  wasps,  by  phials  half  filled  with  beer,  or  any 
liquid,  and  set  in  their  haunts ;  for  being  always  eager  to  drink, 
they  will  crowd  in  till  the  bottles  are  full. 

Note 
1  Exod.  viii.  3.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER  XLVIII 

Selborne. 

How  diversified  are  the  modes  of  life  not  only  of  incongru- 
ous but  even  of  congenerous  animals ;  and  yet  their  specific 
distinctions  are  not  more  various  than  their  propensities. 
Thus,  while  the  field-cricket  delights  in  sunny,  dry  banks,  and 
the  house-cricket  rejoices  amidst  the  glowing  heat  of  the 
kitchen  hearth  or  oven,  the  Gryllns  gryllo  talpa  (the  mole- 
cricket)  haunts  moist  meadows   and  frequents  the  sides  of 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  20$ 

ponds  and  banks  of  streams,  performing  all  its  functions  in  a 
swampy,  wet  soil.  With  a  pair  of  fore-feet,  curiously  adapted 
to  the  purpose,  it  burrows  and  works  under  ground  like  the 
mole,  raising  a  ridge  as  it  proceeds,  but  seldom  throwing  up 
hillocks. 

As  mole-crickets  often  infest  gardens  by  the  sides  of  canals, 
they  are  unwelcome  guests  to  the  gardener,  raising  up  ridges 
in  their  subterraneous  progress,  and  rendering  the  walks 
unsightly.  If  they  take  to  the  kitchen  quarters  they  occasion 
great  damage  among  the  plants  and  roots  by  destroying  whole 
beds  of  cabbages,  young  legumes,  and  flowers.  When  dug 
out  they  seem  very  slow  and  helpless,  and  make  no  use  of 
their  wings  by  day ;  but  at  night  they  come  abroad,  and  make 
long  excursions,  as  I  have  been  convinced  by  finding  stragglers, 
in  a  morning,  in  improbable  places.  In  fine  weather,  about 
the  middle  of  April,  and  just  at  the  close  of  day,  they  begin 
to  solace  themselves  with  a  low,  dull,  jarring  note,  continued 
for  a  long  time  without  interruption,  and  not  unlike  the  chat- 
tering of  the  fern-owl,  or  goat-sucker,  but  more  inward. 

About  the  beginning  of  May  they  lay  their  eggs,  as  I  was 
once  an  eye-witness ;  for  a  gardener  at  a  house  where  I  was  on  a 
visit,  happening  to  be  mowing,  on  the  6th  of  that  month,  by  the 
side  of  a  canal,  his  scythe  struck  too  deep,  pared  off  a  large 
piece  of  turf,  and  laid  open  to  viev/  a  curious  scene  of  domestic 
economy  :  — 

.     .     .     "  Ingentem  lato  dedit  ore  fenestram : 
Apparet  domus  intus,  et  atria  longa  patescunt : 
Apparent     .     .     .     penetralia." 

There  were  many  caverns  and  winding  passages  leading  to 
a  kind  of  chamber,  neatly  smoothed  and  rounded,  and  about 
the  size  of  a  moderate  snuff-box.  Within  this  secret  nursery 
were  deposited  near  a  hundred  eggs  of  a  dirty  yellow  color, 
and  enveloped  in  a  tough  skin,  but  too  lately  excluded  to  con- 
tain any  rudiments  of  young,  being  full  of  a  viscous  substance. 
The  eggs  lay  but  shallow,  and  within  the  influence  of  the  sun, 
just  under  a  little  heap  of  fresh-mowed  mould,  like  that  which 
is  raised  by  ants. 

When  mole-crickets  fly  they  move  ''ciirsu  tindoso^'  rising 


206  WHITE 

and  falling  in  curves,  like  the  other  species  mentioned  before. 

In  different  parts  of  this  kingdom  people  call  them  fen-crickets, 

churr-worms,  and  eve-churrs,  all  very  apposite  names. 

Anatomists  who   have   examined   the   intestines  of  these 

insects  astonish  me  with  their  accounts;  for  they  say  that, 

from  the  structure,  position,  and  number  of  their  stomachs,  or 

maws  there  seems  to  be  good  reason  to  suppose  that  this  and 

the  two  former  species  ruminate  or  chew  the  cud  like  many 

quadrupeds  !  ^ 

Note 

^  The  use  of  this  peculiar  formation  of  the  stomach  of  the  cricket  (and 
the  locust  has  the  same  peculiarity)  is  not  yet  clear  to  naturalists,  but  it 
seems  quite  clear  that  it  does  not  chew  the  cud,  and  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  the  food  to  be  returned  for  that  purpose. —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER  XLIX 

Selborne,  May  yth,  1779. 

It  is  now  more  than  forty  years  that  I  have  paid  some  atten- 
tion to  the  ornithology  of  this  district,  without  being  able  to 
exhaust  the  subject :  new  occurrences  still  arise  as  long  as  any 
inquiries  are  kept  alive. 

In  the  last  week  of  last  month  five  of  those  most  rare  birds, 
too  uncommon  to  have  obtained  an  English  name,  but  known 
to  naturalists  by  the  terms  of  hiniantopiis,  or  loi'ipes,  and  chara- 
drius  Jiimantopiis}  were  shot  upon  the  verge  of  Frinsham  Pond, 
a  large  lake  belonging  to  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  and  lying 
between  Wolmer  Forest  and  the  town  of  Farnham,  in  the  county 
of  Surrey.  The  pond-keeper  says  there  were  three  brace  in 
the  flock  :  but,  that  after  he  had  satisfied  his  curiosity,  he  suf- 
fered the  sixth  to  remain  unmolested.  One  of  these  specimens 
I  procured,  and  found  the  length  of  the  legs  to  be  so  extraor- 
dinary, that,  at  first  sight,  one  might  have  supposed  the  shanks 
had  been  fastened  on  to  impose  on  the  credulity  of  the  beholder  : 
they  were  legs  in  caricatiira  ;  and  had  we  seen  such  proportions 
on  a  Chinese  or  Japan  screen  we  should  have  made  large  allow- 
ances for  the  fancy  of  the  draughtsman.  These  birds  are  of 
the  plover  family,  and  might  with  propriety  be  called  the  stilt 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  20/ 

plovers.  Brisson,  under  that  idea,  gives  them  the  apposite 
name  of  I'echasse.  My  specimen,  when  drawn  and  stuffed  with 
pepper,  weighed  only  four  ounces  and  a  quarter,  though  the 
naked  part  of  the  thigh  measured  three  inches  and  a  half,  and 
the  legs  four  inches  and  a  half.  Hence  we  may  safely  assert 
that  these  birds  exhibit,  weight  for  inches,  incomparably  the 
greatest  length  of  legs  of  any  known  bird.  The  flamingo,  for 
instance,  is  one  of  the  most  long-legged  birds,  and  yet  it  bears 
no  manner  of  proportion  to  the  himantopus  ;  for  a  cock  flamingo 
weighs,  at  an  average,  about  four  pounds  avoirdupois  ;  and  his 
legs  and  thighs  measure  usually  about  twenty  inches.  But  four 
pounds  are  fifteen  times  and  a  fraction  more  than  four  ounces 
and  one  quarter  ;  and  if  four  ounces  and  a  quarter  have  eight 
inches  of  legs,  four  pounds  must  have  one  hundred  and  twenty 
inches  and  a  fraction  of  legs,  viz.,  somewhat  more  than  ten 
feet ;  such  a  monstrous  proportion  as  the  world  never  saw ! 
If  you  should  try  the  experiment  in  still  larger  birds  the  dis- 
parity would  still  increase.  It  must  be  matter  of  great  curi- 
osity to  see  the  stilt  plover  move  ;  to  observe  how  it  can  wield 
such  a  length  of  lever  with  such  feeble  muscles  as  the  thighs 
seem  to  be  furnished  with.  At  best  one  should  expect  it  to  be 
but  a  bad  walker :  but  what  adds  to  the  wonder  is  that  it  has 
no  back  toe.  Now  without  that  steady  prop  to  support  its  steps 
it  must  be  liable,  in  speculation,  to  perpetual  vacillations,  and 
seldom  able  to  preserve  the  true  centre  of  gravity. 

The  old  name  of  himantopus  is  taken  from  Pliny ;  and,  by 
an  awkward  metaphor,  implies  that  the  legs  are  as  slender  and 
pliant  as  if  cut  out  of  a  thong  of  leather.  Neither  Willughby 
nor  Ray,  in  all  their  curious  researches,  either  at  home  or 
abroad,  ever  saw  this  bird.  Mr.  Pennant  never  met  with  it  in 
all  Great  Britain,  but  observed  it  often  in  the  cabinets  of  the 
curious  at  Paris.  Hasselquist  says  that  it  migrates  to  Egypt 
in  the  autumn :  and  a  most  accurate  observer  of  nature  has 
assured  me  that  he  has  found  it  on  the  banks  of  the  streams 
in  Andalusia. 

Our  writers  record  it  to  have  been  found  only  twice  in  Great 
Britain.  From  all  these  relations  it  plainly  appears  that  these 
long-legged  plovers  are  birds  of  south  Europe,  and  rarely  visit 
our  island ;  and  when  they  do,  are  wanderers  and  stragglers, 


208  WHITE 

and  impelled  to  make  so  distant  and  northern  an  excursion  from 
motives  or  accidents  for  which  we  are  not  able  to  account. 
One  thing  may  fairly  be  deduced,  that  these  birds  come  over 
to  us  from  the  continent,  since  nobody  can  suppose  that  a 
species  not  noticed  once  in  an  age,  and  of  such  a  remarkable 
make,  can  constantly  breed  unobserved  in  this  kingdom. 

Note 

1  The  bird  referred  to  is  the  black-winged  stilt,  which  is  only  an  occa- 
sional visitant  in  England.  —  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   L 

Selborne,  April  21st,  1780. 

Dear  Sir,  —  The  old  Sussex  tortoise,  that  I  have  mentioned 
to  you  so  often,  is  become  my  property.  I  dug  it  out  of  its 
winter  dormitory  in  March  last,  when  it  was  enough  awakened 
to  express  its  resentments  by  hissing  ;  and,  packing  it  in  a  box 
with  earth,  carried  it  eighty  miles  in  post-chaises.  The  rattle 
and  hurry  of  the  journey  so  perfectly  roused  it  that,  when  I 
turned  it  out  on  a  border,  it  walked  twice  down  to  the  bottom 
of  my  garden;  however,  in  the  evening,  the  weather  being  cold, 
it  buried  itself  in  the  loose  mould,  and  continues  still  concealed. 

As  it  will  be  under  my  eye,  I  shall  now  have  an  opportunity 
of  enlarging  my  observations  on  its  mode  of  life  and  propen- 
sities ;  and  perceive  already  that,  towards  the  time  of  coming 
forth,  it  opens  a  breathing  place  in  the  ground  near  its  head, 
requiring,  I  conclude,  a  freer  respiration  as  it  becomes  more 
alive.  This  creature  not  only  goes  under  the  earth  from  the 
middle  of  November  to  the  middle  of  April,  but  sleeps  great 
part  of  the  summer :  for  it  goes  to  bed  in  the  longest  days  at 
four  in  the  afternoon,  and  often  does  not  stir  in  the  morning 
till  late.  Besides,  it  retires  to  rest  for  every  shower ;  and  does 
not  move  at  all  in  wet  days. 

When  one  reflects  on  the  state  of  this  strange  being,  it  is  a 
matter  of  wonder  to  find  that  Providence  should  bestow  such 
a  profusion  of  days,  such  a  seeming  waste  of  longevity,  on  a 
reptile  that  appears  to  relish  it  so  little  as  to  squander  more 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  209 

than  two-thirds  of  its  existence  in  a  joyless  stupor,  and  be  lost 
to  all  sensation  for  months  together  in  the  profoundest  of 
slumbers. 

While  I  was  writing  this  letter,  a  moist  and  warm  afternoon, 
with  the  thermometer  at  50°,  brought  forth  troops  of  shell- 
snails  ;  and,  at  the  same  juncture,  the  tortoise  heaved  up  the 
mould  and  put  out  its  head;  and  the  next  morning  came  forth, 
as  it  were,  raised  from  the  dead;  and  walked  about  till  four  in 
the  afternoon.  This  was  a  curious  coincidence !  a  very  amusing 
occurrence !  to  see  such  a  similarity  of  feelings  between  the 
two  (})ep€OLKoi !  for  so  the  Greeks  called  both  the  shell-snail  and 
the  tortoise. 

Summer  birds  are,  this  cold  and  backward  spring,  un- 
usually late :  I  have  seen  but  one  swallow  yet.  This  con- 
formity with  the  weather  convinces  me  more  and  more  that 
they  sleep  in  the  winter. 


LETTER   LI 

Selborne,  Sept.  yd,  1781. 

I  HAVE  now  read  your  miscellanies  through  with  much  care 
and  satisfaction ;  and  am  to  return  you  my  best  thanks  for 
the  honorable  mention  made  in  them  of  me  as  a  naturalist, 
which  I  wish  I  may  deserve. 

In  some  former  letters  I  expressed  my  suspicions  that  many 
of  the  house-martins  do  not  depart  in  the  winter  far  from  this 
village.  I  therefore  determined  to  make  some  search  about 
the  south-east  end  of  the  hill,  where  I  imagined  they  might 
slumber  out  the  uncomfortable  months  of  winter.  But  sup- 
posing that  the  examination  would  be  made  to  the  best 
advantage  in  the  spring,  and  observing  that  no  martins  had 
appeared  by  the  nth  April  last,  on  that  day  I  employed 
some  men  to  explore  the  shrubs  and  cavities  of  the  suspected 
spot.  The  persons  took  pains,  but  without  any  success; 
however,  a  remarkable  incident  occurred  in  the  midst  of  our 
pursuit :  while  the  laborers  were  at  work  a  house-martin,  the 
first  that  had  been  seen  this  year,  came  down  the  village  in 
the  sight  of  several  people,  and  went  at  once  into  a  nest, 
15 


210  WHITE 


where  it  stayed  a  short  time,  and  then  flew  over  the  houses ; 
for  some  days  after  no  martins  were  observed,  not  till  the 
i6th  April,  and  then  only  a  pair.  Martins  in  general  were 
remarkably  late  this  year. 


LETTER   LII 

Selborne,  Sept.  gth,  1781. 

I  HAVE  just  met  with  a  circumstance  respecting  swifts, 
which  furnishes  an  exception  to  the  whole  tenor  of  my 
observations  ever  since  I  have  bestowed  any  attention  on  that 
species  of  hirundines.  Our  swifts,  in  general,  withdrew  this 
year  about  the  first  day  of  August,  all  save  one  pair,  which 
in  two  or  three  days  was  reduced  to  a  single  bird.  The 
perseverance  of  this  individual  made  me  suspect  that  the 
strongest  of  motives,  that  of  an  attachment  to  her  young,  could 
alone  occasion  so  late  a  stay.  I  watched  therefore  till  the 
24th  August,  and  then  discovered  that,  under  the  eaves  of 
the  church,  she  attended  upon  two  young,  which  were  fledged, 
and  now  put  out  their  white  chins  from  a  crevice.  These 
remained  till  the  27th,  looking  more  alert  every  day,  and 
seeming  to  long  to  be  on  the  wing.  After  this  day  they 
were  missing  at  once ;  nor  could  I  ever  observe  them  with 
their  dam  coursing  round  the  church  in  the  act  of  learning  to 
fly,  as  the  first  broods  evidently  do.  On  the  31st  I  caused 
the  eaves  to  be  searched,  but  we  found  in  the  nest  only  two 
callow,  dead,  stinking  swifts,  on  which  a  second  nest  had  been 
formed.  This  double  nest  was  full  of  the  black  shining  cases 
of  the  hippobosccB  Jih'imdinis. 

The  following  remarks  on  this  unusual  incident  are  obvious. 
The  first  is,  that  though  it  may  be  disagreeable  to  swifts  to 
remain  beyond  the  beginning  of  August,  yet  that  they  can 
subsist  longer  is  undeniable.  The  second  is,  that  this  un- 
common event,  as  it  was  owing  to  the  loss  of  the  first  brood, 
so  it  corroborates  my  former  remark,  that  swifts  breed 
regularly  but  once ;  since,  was  the  contrary  the  case,  the 
occurrence  above  could  neither  be  new  nor  rare. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  211 

P.S. —  One  swift  was  seen   at   Lyndon,  in  the  county  of 
Rutland,  in  1782,  so  late  as  the  3rd  September. 


LETTER   LIII 

As  I  have  sometimes  known  you  make  inquiries  about  sev- 
eral kinds  of  insects,  I  shall  here  send  you  an  account  of  one 
sort  which  I  little  expected  to  have  found  in  this  kingdom. 
I  had  often  observed  that  one  particular  part  of  a  vine  grow- 
ing on  the  walls  of  my  house  was  covered  in  the  autumn  with 
a  black,  dust-like  appearance,  on  which  the  flies  fed  eagerly ; 
and  that  the  shoots  and  leaves  thus  affected  did  not  thrive ; 
nor  did  the  fruit  ripen.  To  this  substance  I  applied  my  glasses  ; 
but  could  not  discover  that  it  had  anything  to  do  with  animal 
life,  as  I  at  first  expected :  but,  upon  a  closer  examination 
behind  the  larger  boughs,  we  were  surprised  to  find  that  they 
were  coated  over  with  husky  shells,  from  whose  sides  pro- 
ceeded a  cotton-like  substance,  surrounding  a  multitude  of 
eggs.  This  curious  and  uncommon  production  put  me  upon 
recollecting  what  I  have  heard  and  read  concerning  the  coccus 
vitis  vinifei'ce  of  Linnaeus,  which,  in  the  south  of  Europe, 
infests  many  vines,  and  is  a  horrid  and  loathsome  pest.  As 
soon  as  I  had  turned  to  the  accounts  given  of  this  insect,  I 
saw  at  once  that  it  swarmed  on  my  vine ;  and  did  not  appear 
to  have  been  at  all  checked  by  the  preceding  winter,  which 
had  been  uncommonly  severe. 

Not  being  then  at  all  aware  that  it  had  anything  to  do  with 
England,  I  was  much  inclined  to  think  that  it  came  from 
Gibraltar  among  the  many  boxes  and  packages  of  plants  and 
birds  which  I  had  formerly  received  from  thence  ;  and  espe- 
cially as  the  vine  infested  grew  immediately  under  my  study 
window,  where  I  usually  kept  my  specimens.  True  it  is  that 
I  had  received  nothing  from  thence  for  some  years :  but  as 
insects,  we  know,  are  conveyed  from  one  country  to  another 
in  a  very  unexpected  manner,  and  have  a  wonderful  power  of 
maintaining  their  existence  till  they  fall  into  a  nidus  proper 
for  their  support  and  increase,  I  cannot  but  suspect  still  that 


212  WHITE 

these  cocci  came  to  me  originally  from  Andalusia.  Yet,  all 
the  while,  candor  obliges  me  to  confess  that  Mr.  Lightfoot 
has  written  me  word  that  he  once,  and  but  once,  saw  these 
insects  on  a  vine  at  Weymouth  in  Dorsetshire ;  which,  it  is 
here  to  be  observed,  is  a  seaport  town  to  which  the  coccus 
might  be  conveyed  by  shipping. 

As  many  of  my  readers  may  possibly  never  have  heard  of 
this  strange  and  unusual  insect,  I  shall  here  transcribe  a  pas- 
sage from  a  natural  history  of  Gibraltar,  written  by  the  Rev- 
erend John  White,  late  vicar  of  Blackburn  in  Lancashire,  but 
not  yet  published  :  — 

"  In  the  year  1770  a  vine,  which  grew  on  the  east  side  of 
my  house,  and  which  had  produced  the  finest  crops  of  grapes 
for  years  past,  was  suddenly  overspread  on  all  the  woody 
branches  with  large  lumps  of  a  white  fibrous  substance  re- 
sembling spiders'  webs,  or  rather  raw  cotton.  It  was  of  a 
very  clammy  quality,  sticking  fast  to  everything  that  touched 
it,  and  capable  of  being  spun  into  long  threads.  At  first  I 
suspected  it  to  be  the  product  of  spiders,  but  could  find  none. 
Nothing  was  to  be  seen  connected  with  it  but  many  brown 
oval  husky  shells,  which  by  no  means  looked  like  insects,  but 
rather  resembled  bits  of  the  dry  bark  of  the  vine.  The  tree 
had  a  plentiful  crop  of  grapes  set,  when  this  pest  appeared 
upon  it;  but  the  fruit  was  manifestly  injured  by  this  foul  en- 
cumbrance. It  remained  all  the  summer,  still  increasing,  and 
loaded  the  woody  and  bearing  branches  to  a  vast  degree.  I 
often  pulled  off  great  quantities  by  handf uls ;  but  it  was  so 
slimy  and  tenacious  that  it  could  by  no  means  be  cleared. 
The  grapes  never  filled  to  their  natural  perfection,  but  turned 
watery  and  vapid.  Upon  perusing  the  works  afterwards  of 
M.  de  Reaumur,  I  found  this  matter  perfectly  described  and 
accounted  for.  Those  husky  shells,  which  I  had  observed, 
were  no  other  than  the  female  coccus,  from  whose  side  this 
cotton-like  substance  exudes,  and  serves  as  a  covering  and 
security  for  their  eggs." 

To  this  account  I  think  proper  to  add  that,  though  the 
female  cocci  are  stationary,  and  seldom  remove  from  the  place 
to  which  they  stick,  yet  the  male  is  a  winged  insect ;  and  that 
the  black  dust  which  I  saw  was  undoubtedly  the  excrement 


Hrom  coll.  Mr.  F    Kaempttfr. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  213 

of  the  females,  which  is  eaten  by  ants  as  well  as  flies.  Though 
the  utmost  severity  of  our  winter  did  not  destroy  these  insects, 
yet  the  attention  of  the  gardener  in  a  summer  or  two  has 
entirely  relieved  my  vine  from  this  filthy  annoyance. 

As  we  have  remarked  above  that  insects  are  often  conveyed 
from  one  country  to  another  in  a  very  unaccountable  manner, 
I  shall  here  mention  an  emigration  of  small  aphides,  which  was 
observed  in  the  village  of  Selborne  no  longer  ago  than  August 
1st,  1785. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  v*^hich  was 
very  hot,  the  people  of  this  village  were  surprised  by  a  shower 
of  aphides,  or  smother-flies,  which  fell  in  these  parts.  Those 
that  were  walking  in  the  street  at  that  juncture  found  them- 
selves covered  with  these  insects,  which  settled  also  on  the 
hedges  and  gardens,  blackening  all  the  vegetables  where  they 
alighted.  My  annuals  were  discolored  with  them,  and  the 
stalks  of  a  bed  of  onions  were  quite  coated  over  for  six  days 
after.  These  armies  were  then,  no  doubt,  in  a  state  of  emi- 
gration, and  shifting  their  quarters ;  and  might  have  come, 
as  far  as  we  know,  from  the  great  hop  plantations  of  Kent  or 
Sussex,  the  wind  being  all  that  day  in  the  easterly  quarter. 
They  were  observed  at  the  same  time  in  great  clouds  about 
Farnham,  and  all  along  the  vale  from  Farnham  to  Alton. 


LETTER   LIV 

Dear  Sir,  —  When  I  happen  to  visit  a  family  where  gold 
and  silver  fishes  are  kept  in  a  glass  bowl,  I  am  always  pleased 
with  the  occurrence,  because  it  offers  me  an  opportunity  of 
observing  the  actions  and  propensities  of  those  beings  with 
whom  we  can  be  little  acquainted  in  their  natural  state.  Not 
long  since  I  spent  a  fortnight  at  the  house  of  a  friend  where 
there  was  such  a  vivary,  to  which  I  paid  no  small  attention, 
taking  every  occasion  to  remark  what  passed  within  its  narrow 
limits.  It  was  here  that  I  first  observed  the  manner  in  which 
fishes  die.^  As  soon  as  the  creature  sickens,  the  head  sinks 
lower  and  lower,  and  it  stands  as  it  were  on  its  head ;  till,  get- 


214  WHITE 

ting  weaker,  and  losing  all  poise,  the  tail  turns  over,  and  at  last 
it  floats  on  the  surface  of  the  water  with  its  belly  uppermost. 
The  reason  why  fishes,  when  dead,  swim  in  that  manner  is  very 
obvious ;  because,  when  the  body  is  no  longer  balanced  by  the 
fins  of  the  belly,  the  broad  muscular  back  preponderates  by 
its  own  gravity,  and  turns  the  belly  uppermost,  as  lighter  from 
its  being  a  cavity,  and  because  it  contains  the  swimming- 
bladders,  which  contribute  to  render  it  buoyant.  Some  that 
delight  in  gold  and  silver  fishes  have  adopted  a  notion  that  they 
need  no  aliment.  True  it  is  that  they  will  subsist  for  a  long 
time  without  any  apparent  food  but  what  they  can  collect  from 
pure  water  frequently  changed ;  yet  they  must  draw  some  sup- 
port from  animalcula,  and  other  nourishment  supplied  by  the 
water;  because,  though  they  seem  to  eat  nothing,  yet  the  con- 
sequences of  eating  often  drop  from  them.  That  they  are  best 
pleased  with  suchj'ejune  diet  may  easily  be  confuted,  since  if  you 
toss  them  crumbs  they  will  seize  them  with  great  readiness,  not 
to  say  greediness ;  however,  bread  should  be  given  sparingly, 
lest,  turning  sour,  it  corrupt  the  water.  They  will  also  feed  on  the 
water-plant  called  Lemna  (ducks'  meat),  and  also  on  small  fry.^ 

When  they  want  to  move  a  little,  they  gently  protrude  them- 
selves with  their  Pinncs  pectorales  ;  but  it  is  with  their  strong 
muscular  tails  only  that  they  and  all  fishes  shoot  along  with 
such  inconceivable  rapidity.  It  has  been  said  that  the  eyes 
of  fishes  are  immovable ;  but  these  apparently  turn  them  for- 
ward or  backward  in  their  sockets  as  occasions  require.  They 
take  little  notice  of  a  lighted  candle,  though  applied  close  to 
their  heads,  but  flounce  and  seem  much  frightened  by  a  sudden 
stroke  of  the  hand  against  the  support  whereon  the  bowl  is 
hung;  especially  when  they  have  been  motionless,  and  are 
perhaps  asleep.  As  fishes  have  no  eyelids,  it  is  not  easy  to 
discern  when  they  are  sleeping  or  not,  because  their  eyes  are 
always  open. 

Nothing  can  be  more  amusing  than  a  glass  bowl  containing 
such  fishes ;  the  double  refractions  of  the  glass  and  water  rep- 
resent them,  when  moving,  in  a  shifting  and  changeable  vari- 
ety of  dimensions,  shades,  and  colors  ;  while  the  two  mediums, 
assisted  by  the  concavo-convex  shape  of  the  vessel,  magnify 
and  distort  them  vastly ;  not  to  mention  that  the  introduction 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  21 5 

of  another  element  and  its  inhabitants  into  our  parlors  engages 
the  fancy  in  a  very  agreeable  manner. 

Gold  and  silver  fishes,  though  originally  natives  of  China 
and  Japan,  yet  are  become  so  well  reconciled  to  our  climate 
as  to  thrive  and  multiply  very  fast  in  our  ponds  and  stews. 
Linnaeus  ranks  this  species  of  fish  under  the  genus  of  Cypri- 
7ms,  or  carp,  and  calls  it  Cyprhuis  auratiis. 

Some  people  exhibit  this  sort  of  fish  in  a  very  fanciful 
way ;  for  they  cause  a  glass  bowl  to  be  blown  with  a  large 
hollow  space  within,  that  does  not  communicate  with  it.  In 
this  cavity  they  put  a  bird  occasionally  ;  so  that  you  may  see 
a  goldfinch  or  a  linnet  hopping  as  it  were  in  the  midst  of  the 
water,  and  the  fishes  swimming  in  a  circle  round  it.  The 
simple  exhibition  of  the  fishes  is  agreeable  and  pleasant ;  but 
in  so  complicated  a  way  becomes  whimsical  and  unnatural, 
and  liable  to  the  objection  due  to  him, 

"Qui  variare  cupit  rem  prodigialit^r  unam." 

I  am,  etc. 

Notes 

1  Only  fish  which  are  very  heavy  in  the  head  and  shoulders  die  in  the 
way  described  by  White.  Other  fish,  such  as  trout,  swim  with  their  noses 
at  the  surface  of  the  water,  standing  on  their  tails,  as  it  were,  until  they 
turn,  bellies  up,  and  die.  —  G.  C.  D. 

2  In  favorable  waters  the  goldfish  breeds  very  fast,  and  grows  to  a  large 
size.  I  know  a  small  pond  which  is  kept  warm  by  waste  water  from  the 
boilers  of  an  adjoining  paper-mill,  where  these  fish  are  in  incredible  num- 
bers for  so  small  a  space,  and  grow  to  four  or  five  pounds  in  weight. 


LETTER   LV 

October  loth,  1781. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  think  I  have  observed  before  that  much  of 
the  most  considerable  part  of  the  house-martins  withdraw 
from  hence  about  the  first  week  in  October ;  but  that  some, 
the  latter  broods  I  am  now  convinced,  linger  on  till  towards 
the  middle  of  that  month ;  and  that  at  times,  once  perhaps 
in  two  or  three  years,  a  flight,  for  one  day  only,  has  shown 
itself  in  the  first  week  in  November. 

Having  taken  notice,  in  October  1780,  that  the  last  flight 


2l6  WHITE 

was  numerous,  amounting  perhaps  to  one  hundred  and  fifty ; 
and  that  the  season  was  soft  and  still ;  I  was  resolved  to  pay 
uncommon  attention  to  these  late  birds ;  to  find,  if  possible, 
where  they  roosted,  and  to  determine  the  precise  time  of 
their  retreat.  The  mode  of  life  of  these  latter  hirundines  is 
very  favorable  to  such  a  design ;  for  they  spend  the  whole 
day  in  the  sheltered  district,  between  me  and  the  Hanger, 
sailing  about  in  a  placid,  easy  manner,  and  feasting  on  those 
insects  which  love  to  haunt  a  spot  so  secure  from  ruflfling 
winds.  As  my  principal  object  was  to  discover  the  place  of 
their  roosting,  I  took  care  to  wait  on  them  before  they  re- 
tired to  rest,  and  was  much  pleased  to  find  that  for  several 
evenings  together,  just  at  a  quarter  past  five  in  the  afternoon, 
they  all  scudded  away  in  great  haste  towards  the  south-east, 
and  darted  down  among  the  low  shrubs  above  the  cottages 
at  the  end  of  the  hill.  This  spot  in  many  respects  seemed 
to  be  well  calculated  for  their  winter  residence ;  for  in  many 
parts  it  is  as  steep  as  the  roof  of  any  house,  and  therefore 
secure  from  the  annoyances  of  water;  and  it  is  moreover 
clothed  with  beechen  shrubs,  which,  being  stunted  and  bitten 
by  sheep,  make  the  thickest  covert  imaginable ;  and  are  so 
entangled  as  to  be  impervious  to  the  smallest  spaniel ;  be- 
sides, it  is  the  nature  of  underwood  beech  never  to  cast  its 
leaf  all  the  winter ;  so  that,  with  the  leaves  on  the  ground  and 
those  on  the  twigs,  no  shelter  can  be  more  complete.  I  watched 
them  on  the  13th  and  14th  October,  and  found  their  evening 
retreat  was  exact  and  uniform ;  but  after  this  they  made  no 
regular  appearance.  Now  and  then  a  straggler  was  seen;  and 
on  the  22nd  October,  I  observed  two  in  the  morning  over  the 
village,  and  with  them  my  remarks  for  the  season  ended. 

From  all  these  circumstances  put  together,  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  this  lingering  flight,  at  so  late  a  season  of  the 
year,  never  departed  from  the  island.  Had  they  indulged 
me  that  autumn  with  a  November  visit,  as  I  much  desired,  I 
presume  that,  with  proper  assistants,  I  should  have  settled 
the  matter  past  all  doubt ;  but  though  the  3rd  November  was 
a  sweet  day,  and  in  appearance  exactly  suited  to  my  wishes, 
yet  not  a  martin  was  to  be  seen ;  and  so  I  was  forced,  re- 
luctantly, to  give  up  the  pursuit. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  217 

I  have  only  to  add  that  were  the  bushes,  which  cover  some 
acres,  and  are  not  my  own  property,  to  be  grubbed  and  care- 
fully examined,  probably  those  late  broods,  and  perhaps  the 
whole  aggregate  body  of  the  house-martins  of  this  district, 
might  be  found  there,  in  different  secret  dormitories ;  and  that, 
so  far  from  withdrawing  into  warmer  climes,  it  would  appear 
that  they  never  depart  three  hundred  yards  from  the  village. 


LETTER   LVI 

They  who  write  on  natural  history  cannot  too  frequently 
advert  to  instinct,  that  wonderful  limited  faculty,  which  in 
some  instances  raises  the  brute  creation,  as  it  were,  above 
reason,  and  in  others  leaves  them  so  far  below  it.  Philoso- 
phers have  defined  instinct  to  be  that  secret  influence  by  which 
every  species  is  compelled  naturally  to  pursue,  at  all  times,  the 
same  way  or  track,  without  any  teaching  or  example  ;  whereas 
reason,  without  instruction,  would  often  vary  and  do  that  by 
many  methods  which  instinct  effects  by  one  alone.  Now  this 
maxim  must  be  taken  in  a  qualified  sense ;  for  there  are  in- 
stances in  which  instinct  does  vary  and  conform  to  the  circum- 
stances of  place  and  convenience. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  every  species  of  bird  has  a  mode 
of  nidification  peculiar  to  itself,  so  that  a  school-boy  would  at 
once  pronounce  on  the  sort  of  nest  before  him.  This  is  the 
case  among  fields  and  woods  and  wilds ;  but  in  the  villages 
round  London,  where  mosses  and  gossamer,  and  cotton  from 
vegetables,  are  hardly  to  be  found,  the  nest  of  the  chaffinch 
has  not  that  elegant  finished  appearance,  nor  is  it  so  beauti- 
fully studded  with  lichens,  as  in  a  more  rural  district ;  and  the 
wren  is  obliged  to  construct  its  house  with  straws  and  dry 
grasses,  which  do  not  give  it  that  rotundity  and  compactness 
so  remarkable  in  the  edifices  of  that  little  architect.  Again,  the 
regular  nest  of  the  house-martin  is  hemispheric ;  but  where  a 
rafter,  or  a  joist,  or  a  cornice,  may  happen  to  stand  in  the  way, 
the  nest  is  so  contrived  as  to  conform  to  the  obstruction,  and 
becomes  fiat,  or  compressed. 


2l8  WHITE 

In  the  following  instances  instinct  is  perfectly  uniform  and 
consistent.  There  are  three  creatures,  the  squirrel,  the  field- 
mouse,  and  the  bird  called  the  nuthatch  {sitta  EuropcBci),  which 
live  much  on  hazel-nuts ;  and  yet  they  open  them  each  in  a 
different  way.  The  first,  after  rasping  off  the  small  end,  splits 
the  shell  in  two  with  his  long  fore-teeth,  as  a  man  does  with 
his  knife ;  the  second  nibbles  a  hole  with  his  teeth,  so  regular 
as  if  drilled  with  a  wimble,  and  yet  so  small  that  one  could 
wonder  how  the  kernel  can  be  extracted  through  it ;  while  the 
last  picks  an  irregular  ragged  hole  with  its  bill :  but  as  this 
artist  has  no  paws  to  hold  the  nut  firm  while  he  pierces  it,  like 
an  adroit  workman  he  fixes  it,  as  it  were,  in  a  vice,  in  some 
cleft  of  a  tree,  or  in  some  crevice ;  when  standing  over  it,  he 
perforates  the  stubborn  shell.  We  have  often  placed  nuts  in 
the  chink  of  a  gate-post  where  nuthatches  have  been  known 
to  haunt,  and  have  always  found  that  those  birds  have  readily 
penetrated  them.  While  at  work  they  make  a  rapping  noise 
that  may  be  heard  at  a  considerable  distance. 

You  that  understand  both  the  theory  and  practical  part  of 
music  may  best  inform  us  why  harmony  or  melody  should  so 
strangely  assist  some  men,  as  it  were  by  recollection,  for  days 
after  the  concert  is  over.  What  I  mean  the  following  passage 
will  most  readily  explain :  — 

"  Praehabebat  porro  vocibus  humanis,  instrumentisque  har- 
monicis  musicam  illam  avium :  non  quod  alia  quoque  non 
delectaretur :  sed  quod  ex  musica  humana  relinqueretur  in 
animo  continens  quaedam,  attentionemque  et  somnum  contur- 
bans  agitatio ;  dum  ascensus,  exscensus,  tenores,  ac  mutationes 
illae  sonorum,  etconsonantiarum  euntque,  redeuntque  per  phan- 
tasiam :  —  cum  nihil  tale  relinqui  possit  ex  modulationibus 
avium,  quae,  quod  non  sunt  perinde  a  nobis  imitabiles,  non 
possunt  perinde  internam  facultatem  commovere."  —  Gassen- 
dus  in  Vita  Peireskii. 

This  curious  quotation  strikes  me  much  by  so  well  repre- 
senting my  own  case,  and  by  describing  what  I  have  so  often 
felt  but  never  could  so  well  express.  When  I  hear  fine  music 
I  am  haunted  with  passages  therefrom  night  and  day ;  and 
especially  at  first  waking,  which,  by  their  importunity,  give  me 
more  uneasiness  than  pleasure ;  elegant  lessons  still  tease  my 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  219 

imagination,  and  recur  irresistibly  to  my  recollection  at  seasons, 

and  eve 

matters. 


and  even  when  I  am  desirous  of  thinking  of  more  serious 


I  am,  etc. 

LETTER    LVII 

A  RARE,  and  I  think  a  new,  little  bird  frequents  my  gar- 
den, which  I  have  great  reason  to  think  is  the  pettichaps :  it 
is  common  in  some  parts  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  I  have  received 
formerly  several  dead  specimens  from  Gibraltar.  This  bird 
much  resembles  the  whitethroat,  but  has  a  more  white,  or  rather 
silvery  breast  and  belly;  is  restless  and  active,  like  the  willow- 
wrens,  and  hops  from  bough  to  bough,  examining  every  part 
for  food;  it  also  runs  up  the  stems  of  the  crown-imperials,  and, 
putting  its  head  into  the  bells  of  those  flowers,  sips  the  liquor 
which  stands  in  the  nectarium  of  each  petal.  Sometimes  it 
feeds  on  the  ground  like  the  hedge-sparrow,  by  hopping  about 
on  the  grass-plots  and  mown  walks.^ 

One  of  my  neighbors,  an  intelligent  and  observing  man, 
informs  me  that,  in  the  beginning  of  May  and  about  ten  min- 
utes before  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  he  discovered  a  great 
cluster  of  house-swallows,  thirty,  at  least,  he  supposes,  perch- 
ing on  a  willow  that  hung  over  the  verge  of  James  Knight's 
upper  pond.  His  attention  was  first  drawn  by  the  twittering 
of  these  birds,  which  sat  motionless  in  a  row  on  the  bough, 
with  their  heads  all  one  way,  and,  by  their  weight,  pressing 
down  the  twig  so  that  it  nearly  touched  the  water.  In  this 
situation  he  watched  them  till  he  could  see  no  longer.  Re- 
peated accounts  of  this  sort,  spring  and  fall,  induce  us  greatly 
to  suspect  that  house-swallows  have  some  strong  attachment 
to  water,  independent  of  the  matter  of  food  ;  and,  though  they 
may  not  retire  into  that  element,  yet  they  may  conceal  them- 
selves in  the  banks  of  pools  and  rivers  during  the  uncomfort- 
able months  of  winter. 

One  of  the  keepers  of  Wolmer  Forest  sent  me  a  peregrine- 
falcon,  which  he  shot  on  the  verge  of  that  district  as  it  was 
devouring  a  wood-pigeon.  The  falco  peregriniis,  or  haggard- 
falcon,  is  a  noble  species  of  hawk  seldom  seen  in  the  southern 


220  WHITE 

counties.  In  winter  1767,  one  was  killed  in  the  neighboring 
parish  of  Farringdon,  and  sent  by  me  to  Mr.  Pennant  into 
North  Wales.2  Since  that  time  I  have  met  with  none  till  now. 
The  specimen  mentioned  above  was  in  fine  preservation,  and 
not  injured  by  the  shot :  it  measured  forty-two  inches  from 
wing  to  wing,  and  twenty-one  from  beak  to  tail,  and  weighed 
two  pounds  and  a  half  standing  weight.  This  species  is  very 
robust,  and  wonderfully  formed  for  rapine ;  its  breast  was 
plump  and  muscular ;  its  thighs  long,  thick,  and  brawny ;  and 
its  legs  remarkably  short  and  well  set :  the  feet  were  armed 
with  most  formidable,  sharp,  long  talons  :  the  eyelids  and  cere 
of  the  bill  were  yellow ;  but  the  irides  of  the  eyes  dusky ;  the 
beak  was  thick  and  hooked,  and  of  a  dark  color,  and  had  a 
jagged  process  near  the  end  of  the  upper  mandible  on  each 
side :  its  tail,  or  train,  was  short  in  proportion  to  the  bulk  of 
its  body ;  yet  the  wings,  when  closed,  did  not  extend  to  the 
end  of  the  train.  From  its  large  and  fair  proportions  it  might 
be  supposed  to  have  been  a  female ;  but  I  was  not  permitted 
to  cut  open  the  specimen.^  For  one  of  the  birds  of  prey,  which 
are  usually  lean,  this  was  in  high  case  :  in  its  craw  were  many 
barleycorns,  which  probably  came  from  the  crop  of  the  wood- 
pigeon  on  which  it  was  feeding  when  shot;  for  voracious  birds 
do  not  eat  grain,  but,  when  devouring  their  quarry,  with  undis- 
tinguishing  vehemence  swallow  bones  and  feathers,  and  all 
matters,  indiscriminately.  This  falcon  was  probably  driven 
from  the  mountains  of  North  Wales  or  Scotland,  where  they 
are  known  to  breed,  by  rigorous  weather  and  deep  snows  that 
had  lately  fallen. 

I  am,  etc. 

Notes 

1  The  pettichaps  is  more  usually  known  by  the  name  of  the  garden  war- 
bler, but  White's  description  is  more  like  the  lesser  whitethroat,  which  is 
peculiarly  restless  and  active,  and  has  a  very  silvery  breast  and  belly.  — 
G.  C.  D. 

2  See  my  tenth  and  eleventh  letter  to  that  gentleman.  —  G.  W. 

'  Of  the  hawk  tribe,  the  female  is  always  the  larger,  stronger,  and  hand- 
somer bird ;  the  reverse  being  the  rule  among  those  birds  which  are  not 
birds  of  prey.  —  G.  C.  D. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  221 


LETTER   LVIII 

My  near  neighbor,  a  young  gentleman  in  the  service  of  the 
East  India  Company,  has  brought  home  a  dog  and  a  bitch  of 
the  Chinese  breed  from  Canton,  such  as  are  fattened  in  that 
country  for  the  purpose  of  being  eaten  :  they  are  about  the 
size  of  a  moderate  spaniel ;  of  a  pale  yellow  color,  with  coarse 
bristling  hairs  on  their  backs ;  sharp  upright  ears,  and  peaked 
heads,  which  give  them  a  very  fox-like  appearance.  Their 
hind-legs  are  unusually  straight,  without  any  bend  at  the  hock 
or  ham,  to  such  a  degree  as  to  give  them  an  awkward  gait 
when  they  trot.  When  they  are  in  motion  their  tails  are 
curved  high  over  their  backs  like  those  of  some  hounds,  and 
have  a  bare  place  each  on  the  outside  from  the  tip  midway, 
that  does  not  seem  to  be  matter  of  accident,  but  somewhat 
singular.  Their  eyes  are  jet-black,  small,  and  piercing ;  the 
insides  of  their  lips  and  mouths  of  the  same  color,  and  their 
tongues  blue.  The  bitch  has  a  dew-claw  on  each  hind  leg ; 
the  dog  has  none.  When  taken  out  into  a  field  the  bitch 
showed  some  disposition  for  hunting,  and  dwelt  on  the  scent 
of  a  covey  of  partridges  till  she  sprung  them,  giving  her 
tongue  all  the  time.  The  dogs  in  South  America  are  dumb; 
but  these  bark  much  in  a  short  thick  manner  like  foxes,  and 
have  a  surly,  savage  demeanor  like  their  ancestors,  which  are 
not  domesticated,  but  bred  up  in  sties,  where  they  are  fed  for 
the  table  with  rice-meal  and  other  farinaceous  food.  These 
dogs,  having  been  taken  on  board  as  soon  as  weaned,  could 
not  learn  much  from  their  dam ;  yet  they  did  not  relish  flesh 
when  they  came  to  England.  In  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  the  dogs  are  bred  upon  vegetables,  and  would  not  eat 
flesh  when  offered  them  by  our  circumnavigators. 

We  believe  that  all  dogs,  in  a  state  of  nature,  have  sharp,  up- 
right, fox-like  ears  ;  and  that  hanging  ears,  which  are  esteemed 
so  graceful,  are  the  effect  of  choice  breeding  and  cultivation. 
Thus,  in  the  "  Travels  of  Ysbrandt  Ides  from  Muscovy  to 
China,"  the  dogs  which  draw  the  Tartars  on  snow-sledges, 
near  the  river  Oby,  are  engraved  with  prick  ears,  like  those 
from  Canton.     The  Kamschatdales  also  train  the  same  sort 


222  WHITE 

of  sharp-eared,  peak-nosed  dogs  to  draw  their  sledges ;  as 
may  be  seen  in  an  elegant  print  engraved  for  Captain  Cook's 
last  voyage  round  the  world. 

Now  we  are  upon  the  subject  of  dogs,  it  may  not  be  imper- 
tinent to  add  that  spaniels,  as  all  sportsmen  know,  though  they 
hunt  partridges  and  pheasants  as  it  were  by  instinct,  and  with 
much  delight  and  alacrity,  yet  will  hardly  touch  their  bones 
when  offered  as  food ;  nor  will  a  mongrel  dog  of  my  own, 
though  he  is  remarkable  for  finding  that  sort  of  game.  But, 
when  we  came  to  offer  the  bones  of  partridges  to  the  two 
Chinese  dogs,  they  devoured  them  with  much  greediness,  and 
licked  the  platter  clean. 

No  sporting  dogs  will  flush  woodcocks  till  inured  to  the  scent 
and  trained  to  the  sport,  which  they  then  pursue  with  vehe- 
mence and  transport ;  but  then  they  will  not  touch  their  bones, 
but  turn  from  them  with  abhorrence,  even  when  they  are 
hungry. 

Now,  that  dogs  should  not  be  fond  of  the  bones  of  such 
birds  as  they  are  not  disposed  to  hunt  is  no  wonder ;  but  why 
they  reject  and  do  not  care  to  eat  their  natural  game  is  not 
so  easily  accounted  for,  since  the  end  of  hunting  seems  to  be, 
that  the  chase  pursued  should  be  eaten.  Dogs  again  will  not 
devour  the  more  rancid  water-fowls,  nor  indeed  the  bones  of 
any  wild  fowls  ;  nor  will  they  touch  the  fetid  bodies  of  birds 
that  feed  on  offal  and  garbage ;  and  indeed  there  may  be 
somewhat  of  providential  instinct  in  this  circumstance  of  dis- 
like ;  for  vultures,^  and  kites,  and  ravens,  and  crows,  etc.,  were 
intended  to  be  messmates  with  dogs  ^  over  their  carrion  ;  and 
seem  to  be  appointed  by  nature  as  fellow-scavengers  to  re- 
move all  cadaverous  nuisances  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

I  am,  etc. 
Notes 

^  Hasselquist,  in  his  travels  to  the  Levant,  observes  that  the  dogs  and 
vultures  at  Grand  Cairo  maintain  such  a  friendly  intercourse  as  to  bring  up 
their  young  together  in  the  same  place.  — G.  W. 

2  The  Chinese  word  for  a  dog  to  a  European  ear  sounds  like  qiiihloh.  — 
G.  W. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  223 


LETTER   LIX 

The  fossil  wood  buried  in  the  bogs  of  Wolmer  Forest  is  not 
yet  all  exhausted  ;  for  the  peat-cutters  now  and  then  stumble 
upon  a  log.  I  have  just  seen  a  piece  which  was  sent  by  a 
laborer  of  Oakhanger  to  a  carpenter  of  this  village ;  this  was 
the  butt  end  of  a  small  oak,  about  five  feet  long,  and  about 
five  inches  in  diameter.  It  had  apparently  been  severed  from 
the  ground  by  an  axe,  was  very  ponderous,  and  as  black  as 
ebony.  Upon  asking  the  carpenter  for  what  purpose  he  had 
procured  it,  he  told  me  that  it  was  to  be  sent  to  his  brother, 
a  joiner  at  Farnham,  who  was  to  make  use  of  it  in  cabinet- 
work, by  inlaying  it  along  with  whiter  woods. 

Those  that  are  much  abroad  on  evenings  after  it  is  dark,  in 
spring  and  summer,  frequently  hear  a  nocturnal  bird  passing 
by  on  the  wing,  and  repeating  often  a  short,  quick  note.  This 
bird  I  have  remarked  myself,  but  never  could  make  out  till 
lately.  I  am  assured  now  that  it  is  the  stone-curlew  {chara- 
drius  cedicneinus).  Some  of  them  pass  over  or  near  my  house 
almost  every  evening  after  it  is  dark,  from  the  uplands  of 
the  hill  and  North  Fields,  away  down  towards  Dorton,  where, 
among  the  streams  and  meadows,  they  find  a  greater  plenty 
of  food.  Birds  that  fly  by  night  are  obliged  to  be  noisy;  their 
notes  often  repeated  become  signals  or  watchwords  to  keep 
them  together,  that  they  may  not  stray  or  lose  each  other  in 
the  dark. 

The  evening  proceedings  and  manoeuvres  of  the  rooks  are 
curious  and  amusing  in  the  autumn.  Just  before  dusk  they 
return  in  long  strings  from  the  foraging  of  the  day,  and  ren- 
dezvous by  thousands  over  Selborne  Down,  where  they  wheel 
round  in  the  air,  and  sport  and  dive  in  a  playful  manner,  all 
the  while  exerting  their  voices,  and  making  a  loud  cawing, 
which,  being  blended  and  softened  by  the  distance  that  we 
at  the  village  are  below  them,  becomes  a  confused  noise  or 
chiding ;  or  rather  a  pleasing  murmur,  very  engaging  to  the 
imagination,  and  not  unlike  the  cry  of  a  pack  of  hounds  in 
hollow,  echoing  woods,  or  the  rushing  of  the  wind  in  tall  trees, 
or  the  tumbling  of  the  tide  upon  a  pebbly  shore.     When  this 


224  WHITE 

ceremony  is  over,  with  the  last  gleam  of  day,  they  retire  for 
the  night  to  the  deep  beechen  woods  of  Tisted  and  Ropley. 
We  remember  a  little  girl  who,  as  she  was  going  to  bed,  used 
to  remark  on  such  an  occurrence,  in  the  true  spirit  of  physico- 
theology,  that  the  rooks  were  saying  their  prayers ;  and  yet 
this  child  was  much  too  young  to  be  aware  that  the  Scriptures 
have  said  of  the  Deity  —  that  "  He  f  eedeth  the  ravens  who 
call  upon  Him."  I  am,  etc. 


LETTER   LX 

In  reading  Dr.  Huxam's  "  Observationes  de  Aere,"  etc., 
written  at  Plymouth,  I  find  by  those  curious  and  accurate 
remarks,  which  contain  an  account  of  the  weather  from  the 
year  1727  to  the  year  1748,  inclusive,  that  though  there  is 
frequent  rain  in  that  district  of  Devonshire,  yet  the  quantity 
falling  is  not  great;  and  that  some  years  it  has  been  very  small: 
for  in  1731  the  rain  measured  only  17.266  in.;  and  in  1741, 
20.354  in. ;  ai^d  again,  in  1743,  only  20.908  in.  Places  near 
the  sea  have  frequent  scuds,  that  keep  the  atmosphere  moist, 
yet  do  not  reach  far  up  into  the  country  ;  making  thus  the 
maritime  situations  appear  wet,  when  the  rain  is  not  consider- 
able. In  the  wettest  years  at  Plymouth  the  Doctor  measured 
only  once  36;  and  again  once,  viz.,  1734,  37.114  in. — a 
quantity  of  rain  that  has  twice  been  exceeded  at  Selborne  in 
the  short  period  of  my  observations.  Dr.  Huxam  remarks 
that  frequent  small  rains  keep  the  air  moist ;  while  heavy  ones 
render  it  more  dry  by  beating  down  the  vapors.  He  is  also 
of  opinion  that  the  dingy,  smoky  appearance  in  the  sky,  in 
very  dry  seasons,  arises  from  the  want  of  moisture  sufficient 
to  let  the  light  through,  and  render  the  atmosphere  trans- 
parent ;  because  he  had  observed  several  bodies  more  diapha- 
nous when  wet  than  dry ;  and  did  never  recollect  that  the  air 
had  that  look  in  rainy  seasons. 

My  friend,  who  lives  just  beyond  the  top  of  the  Down, 
brought  his  three  swivel  guns  to  try  them  in  my  outlet,  with 
their  muzzles  towards  the  Hanger,  supposing  that  the  report 
would  have  had  a  great  effect;  but  the  experiment  did  not 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  22$ 

answer  his  expectation.  He  then  removed  them  to  the  alcove 
on  the  Hanger,  when  the  sound,  rushing  along  the  Lith  and 
Comb  Wood,  was  very  grand  ;  but  it  was  at  the  hermitage  that 
the  echoes  and  repercussions  delighted  the  hearers ;  not  only- 
filling  the  Lith  with  the  roar,  as  if  all  the  beeches  were  tear- 
ing up  by  the  roots  ;  but,  turning  to  the  left,  they  pervaded  the 
vale  above  Comb  Wood  ponds ;  and  after  a  pause  seemed  to  take 
up  the  crash  again,  and  to  extend  round  Harteley  Hangers,  and 
to  die  away  at  last  among  the  coppices  and  coverts  of  Ward  le 
Ham.  It  has  been  remarked  before  that  this  district  is  an 
Anathoth,  a  place  of  responses  or  echoes,  and  therefore  proper 
for  such  experiments :  we  may  farther  add  that  the  pauses  in 
echoes,  when  they  cease  and  yet  are  taken  up  again,  like  the 
pauses  in  music,  surprise  the  hearers,  and  have  a  fine  effect 
on  the  imagination. 

The  gentleman  above-mentioned  has  just  fixed  a  barometer 
in  his  parlor  at  Newton  Valence.  The  tube  was  first  filled  here 
(at  Selborne)  twice  with  care,  when  the  mercury  agreed  and 
stood  exactly  with  my  own ;  but,  being  filled  twice  again  at 
Newton,  the  mercury  stood,  on  account  of  the  great  elevation 
of  that  house,  three-tenths  of  an  inch  lower  than  the  barometers 
at  this  village,  and  so  continues  to  do,  be  the  weight  of  the 
atmosphere  what  it  may.  The  plate  of  the  barometer  at 
Newton  is  figured  as  low  as  27;  because  in  stormy  weather 
the  mercury  there  will  sometimes  descend  below  28.  We  have 
supposed  Newton  House  to  stand  two  hundred  feet  higher  than 
this  house  :  but  if  the  rule  holds  good  which  says  that  mercury 
in  a  barometer  sinks  one-tenth  of  an  inch  for  every  hundred 
feet  elevation,  then  the  Newton  barometer,  by  standing  three- 
tenths  lower  than  that  of  Selborne,  proves  that  Newton  House 
must  be  three  hundred  feet  higher  than  that  in  which  I  am 
writing,  instead  of  two  hundred. 

It  may  not  be  impertinent  to  add  that  the  barometers  at 
Selborne  stand  three-tenths  of  an  inch  lower  than  the  barome- 
ters at  South  Lambeth :  whence  we  may  conclude  that  the 
former  place  is  about  three  hundred  feet  higher  than  the  latter  ; 
and  with  good  reason,  because  the  streams  that  rise  with  us 
run  into  the  Thames  at  Weybridge,  and  so  to  London.  Of 
course  therefore  there  must  be  lower  ground  all  the  way  from 
16 


226  WHITE 

Selborne  to  South  Lambeth ;  the  distance  between  which,  all 
the  windings  and  indentings  of  the  stream  considered,  cannot 
be  less  than  a  hundred  miles. 

I  am,  etc. 


LETTER   LXI 

Since  the  weather  of  a  district  is  undoubtedly  part  of  its 
natural  history,  I  shall  make  no  further  apology  for  the  four 
following  letters,  which  will  contain  many  particulars  concern- 
ing some  of  the  great  frosts,  and  a  few  respecting  some  very 
hot  summers,  that  have  distinguished  themselves  from  the  rest 
during  the  course  of  my  observations. 

As  the  frost  in  January  1768  was,  for  the  small  time  it  lasted, 
the  most  severe  that  we  had  then  known  for  many  years,  and 
was  remarkably  injurious  to  evergreens,  some  account  of  its 
rigor,  and  reason  of  its  ravages,  may  be  useful,  and  not  unac- 
ceptable to  persons  that  delight  in  planting  and  ornamenting  ; 
and  may  particularly  become  a  work  that  professes  never  to 
lose  sight  of  utility. 

For  the  last  two  or  three  days  of  the  former  year  there  were 
considerable  falls  of  snow,  which  lay  deep  and  uniform  on  the 
ground  without  any  drifting,  wrapping  up  the  more  humble 
vegetation  in  perfect  security.  From  the  first  day  to  the  fifth 
of  the  new  year  more  snow  succeeded ;  but  from  that  day  the 
air  became  entirely  clear ;  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  about  noon 
had  a  considerable  influence  in  sheltered  situations. 

It  was  in  such  an  aspect  that  the  snow  on  the  author's  ever- 
greens was  melted  every  day,  and  frozen  intensely  every  night ; 
so  that  the  laurestines,  bays,  laurels,  and  arbutuses  looked,  in 
three  or  four  days,  as  if  they  had  been  burnt  in  the  fire ;  while 
a  neighbor's  plantation  of  the  same  kind,  in  a  high,  cold  situa- 
tion, where  the  snow  was  never  melted  at  all,  remained  unin- 
jured. 

From  hence  I  would  infer  that  it  is  the  repeated  melting 
and  freezing  of  the  snow  that  is  so  fatal  to  vegetation,  rather 
than  the  severity  of  the  cold.  Therefore  it  highly  behooves 
every  planter  who  wishes  to  escape  the  cruel  mortification  of 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  22/ 

losing  in  a  few  days  the  labor  and  hopes  of  years,  to  bestir 
himself  on  such  emergencies  ;  and  if  his  plantations  are  small, 
to  avail  himself  of  mats,  cloths,  pease-haum,  straw,  reeds,  or 
any  such  covering,  for  a  short  time ;  or,  if  his  shrubberies  arc 
extensive,  to  see  that  his  people  go  about  with  prongs  and 
forks,  and  carefully  dislodge  the  snow  from  the  boughs  :  since 
the  naked  foliage  will  shift  much  better  for  itself,  than  where 
the  snow  is  partly  melted  and  frozen  again. 

It  may  perhaps  appear  at  first  like  a  paradox ;  but  doubtless 
the  more  tender  trees  and  shrubs  should  never  be  planted  in 
hot  aspects ;  not  only  for  the  reason  assigned  above,  but  also 
because,  thus  circumstanced,  they  are  disposed  to  shoot  earlier 
in  the  spring,  and  to  grow  on  later  in  the  autumn  than  they 
would  otherwise  do,  and  so  are  sufferers  by  lagging  or  early 
frosts.  For  this  reason  also  plants  from  Siberia  will  hardly 
endure  our  climate ;  because,  on  the  very  first  advances  of 
spring,  they  shoot  away,  and  so  are  cut  off  by  the  severe  nights 
of  March  or  April. 

Dr.  Fothergill  and  others  have  experienced  the  same  incon- 
venience with  respect  to  the  more  tender  shrubs  from  North 
America,  which  they  therefore  plant  under  north  walls.  There 
should  also  perhaps  be  a  wall  to  the  east  to  defend  them  from 
the  piercing  blasts  from  that  quarter. 

This  observation  might  without  any  impropriety  be  carried 
into  animal  life  ;  for  discerning  bee-masters  now  find  that  their 
hives  should  not  in  the  winter  be  exposed  to  the  hot  sun, 
because  such  unseasonable  warmth  awakens  the  inhabitants 
too  early  from  their  slumbers  ;  and,  by  putting  their  juices  into 
motion  too  soon,  subjects  them  afterwards  to  inconveniences 
when  rigorous  weather  returns. 

The  coincidents  attending  this  short  but  intense  frost  were, 
that  the  horses  fell  sick  with  an  epidemic  distemper,  which 
injured  the  winds  of  many,  and  killed  some  ;  that  colds  and 
coughs  were  general  among  the  human  species ;  that  it  froze 
under  people's  beds  for  several  nights  ;  that  meat  was  so  hard 
frozen  that  it  could  not  be  spitted,  and  could  not  be  secured 
but  in  cellars ;  that  several  redwings  and  thrushes  were  killed 
by  the  frost ;  and  that  the  large  titmouse  continued  to  pull 
straws  lengthwise  from  the  eaves  of  thatched  houses  and  barns 


228  WHITE 

in  a  most  adroit  manner,  for  a  purpose  that  has  been  explained 
already. 

On  the  3rd  January,  Benjamin  Martin's  thermometer  within 
doors,  in  a  close  parlor  where  there  was  no  fire,  fell  in  the 
night  to  20°,  and  on  the  4th,  to  18°,  and  on  the  7th,  to  17^°, 
a  degree  of  cold  which  the  owner  never  since  saw  in  the  same 
situation ;  and  he  regrets  much  that  he  was  not  able  at  that 
juncture  to  attend  his  instrument  abroad.  All  this  time  the 
wind  continued  north  and  north-east ;  and  yet  on  the  8th  roost- 
cocks,  which  had  been  silent,  began  to  sound  their  clarions,  and 
crows  to  clamor,  as  prognostic  of  milder  weather ;  and,  more- 
over, moles  began  to  heave  and  work,  and  a  manifest  thaw 
took  place.  From  the  latter  circumstance  we  may  conclude 
that  thaws  often  originate  under  ground  from  warm  vapors 
which  arise ;  else  how  should  subterraneous  animals  receive 
such  early  intimations  of  their  approach  .-'  Moreover,  we  have 
often  observed  that  cold  seems  to  descend  from  above ;  for, 
when  a  thermometer  hangs  abroad  in  a  frosty  night,  the  inter- 
vention of  a  cloud  shall  immediately  raise  the  mercury  10° ; 
and  a  clear  sky  shall  again  compel  it  to  descend  to  its  former 
gauge. 

And  here  it  may  be  proper  to  observe,  on  what  has  been 
said  above,  that  though  frosts  advance  to  their  utmost  severity 
by  somewhat  of  a  regular  gradation,  yet  thaws  do  not  usually 
come  on  by  as  regular  a  declension  of  cold ;  but  often  take 
place  immediately  from  intense  freezing ;  as  men  in  sickness 
often  mend  at  once  from  a  paroxysm. 

To  the  great  credit  of  Portugal  laurels  and  American  juni- 
pers, be  it  remembered  that  they  remained  untouched  amidst 
the  general  havoc:  hence  men  should  learn  to  ornament  chiefly 
with  such  trees  as  are  able  to  withstand  accidental  severities, 
and  not  subject  themselves  to  the  vexation  of  a  loss  which  may 
befall  them  once  perhaps  in  ten  years,  yet  may  hardly  be 
recovered  through  the  whole  course  of  their  lives.^ 

As  it  appeared  afterwards,  the  ilexes  were  much  injured, 
the  cypresses  were  half  destroyed,  the  arbutuses  lingered  on 
but  never  recovered  ;  and  the  bays,  laurestines,  and  laurels 
were  killed  to  the  ground ;  and  the  very  wild  hollies,  in  hot 
aspects,  were  so  much  affected  that  they  cast  all  their  leaves. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  229 

By  the  14th  January  the  snow  was  entirely  gone ;  the  tur- 
nips emerged  not  damaged  at  all,  save  in  sunny  places ;  the 
wheat  looked  delicately,  and  the  garden  plants  were  well  pre- 
served ;  for  snow  is  the  most  kindly  mantle  that  infant  vege- 
tation can  be  wrapped  in  :  were  it  not  for  that  friendly  meteor 
no  vegetable  life  could  exist  at  all  in  northerly  regions.  Yet 
in  Sweden  the  earth  in  April  is  not  divested  of  snow  for  more 
than  a  fortnight  before  the  face  of  the  country  is  covered  with 
flowers. 

Note 

^  At  the  same  time  the  snow  fell  so  fast  and  in  such  quantity,  and  lay 
so  long,  that  all  the  thick  shrubs  were  bent  to  the  ground  with  its  weight, 
and  unless  the  snow  was  constantly  shaken  off  the  branches  they  per- 
ished.—  G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   LXII 

There  were  some  circumstances  attending  the  remarkable 
frost  in  January  1776,  so  singular  and  striking,  that  a  short 
detail  of  them  may  not  be  unacceptable. 

The  most  certain  way  to  be  exact  will  be  to  copy  the  pas- 
sages from  my  journal,  which  were  taken  from  time  to  time, 
as  things  occurred.  But  it  may  be  proper  previously  to 
remark  that  the  first  week  in  January  was  uncommonly  wet, 
and  drowned  with  vast  rains  from  every  quarter  :  from  whence 
may  be  inferred,  as  there  is  great  reason  to  believe  is  the  case, 
that  intense  frosts  seldom  take  place  till  the  earth  is  perfectly 
glutted  and  chilled  with  water ;  ^  and  hence  dry  autumns  are 
seldom  followed  by  rigorous  winters. 

January  7th.  —  Snow  driving  all  the  day,  which  was  followed 
by  frost,  sleet,  and  some  snow,  till  the  12th,  when  a  prodigious 
mass  overwhelmed  all  the  works  of  men,  drifting  over  the  tops 
of  the  gates  and  filling  the  hollow  lanes. 

On  the  14th  the  writer  was  obliged  to  be  much  abroad;  and 
thinks  he  never  before  or  since  has  encountered  such  rugged 
Siberian  weather.  Many  of  the  narrow  roads  were  now  filled 
above  the  tops  of  the  hedges ;  through  which  the  snow  was 
driven  into  most  romantic  and  grotesque  shapes,  so  striking 


23P  WHITE 

to  the  imagination  as  not  to  be  seen  without  wonder  and  pleas- 
ure. The  poultry  dared  not  to  stir  out  of  their  roosting  places; 
for  cocks  and  hens  are  so  dazzled  and  confounded  by  the  glare 
of  snow  that  they  would  soon  perish  without  assistance.  The 
hares  also  lay  sullenly  in  their  seats,  and  would  not  move  till 
compelled  by  hunger ;  being  conscious  —  poor  animals  —  that 
the  drifts  and  heaps  treacherously  betray  their  footsteps,  and 
prove  fatal  to  numbers  of  them. 

From  the  14th  the  snow  continued  to  increase,  and  began 
to  stop  the  road  wagons,  and  coaches,  which  could  no  longer 
keep  on  their  regular  stages ;  and  especially  on  the  western 
roads,  where  the  fall  appears  to  have  been  deeper  than  in 
the  south.  The  company  at  Bath,  that  wanted  to  attend  the 
Queen's  birthday,  were  strangely  incommoded :  many  car- 
riages of  persons,  who  got  in  their  way  to  town  from  Bath 
as  far  as  Marlborough,  after  strange  embarrassments,  here 
met  with  a  ne  phts  ultra.  The  ladies  fretted,  and  offered  large 
rewards  to  laborers  if  they  would  shovel  them  a  track  to  Lon- 
don ;  but  the  relentless  heaps  of  snow  were  too  bulky  to  be 
removed;  and  so  the  i8th  passed  over,  leaving  the  company 
in  very  uncomfortable  circumstances  at  the  Castle  and  other 
inns. 

On  the  20th  the  sun  shone  out  for  the  first  time  since  the 
frost  began ;  a  circumstance  that  has  been  remarked  before 
much  in  favor  of  vegetation.  All  this  time  the  cold  was  not 
very  intense,  for  the  thermometer  stood  at  29°,  28°,  25°,  and 
thereabout;  but  on  the  21st  it  descended  to  20°.  The  birds 
now  began  to  be  in  a  very  pitiable  and  starving  condition. 
Tamed  by  the  season,  skylarks  settled  in  the  streets  of  towns, 
because  they  saw  the  ground  was  bare;  rooks  frequented  dung- 
hills close  to  houses;  and  crows  watched  horses  as  they  passed, 
and  greedily  devoured  what  dropped  from  them :  hares  now 
came  into  men's  gardens,  and,  scraping  away  the  snow,  de- 
voured such  plants  as  they  could  find. 

On  the  22nd  the  author  had  occasion  to  go  to  London 
through  a  sort  of  Laplandian  scene,  very  wild  and  grotesque 
indeed.  But  the  metropolis  itself  exhibited  a  still  more  singu- 
lar appearance  than  the  country ;  for,  being  bedded  deep  in 
snow,  the  pavement  of  the  streets  could  not  be  touched  by 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  23 1 

the  wheels  or  the  horses'  feet,  so  that  the  carriages  ran  about 
without  the  least  noise.  Such  an  exemption  from  din  and 
clatter  was  strange,  but  not  pleasant ;  it  seemed  to  convey  an 
uncomfortable  idea  of  desolation  :  — 

.     .     .     "  Ipsa  silentia  terrent." 

On  the  27th  much  snow  fell  all  day,  and  in  the  evening  the 
frost  became  very  intense.  At  South  Lambeth,  for  the  four 
following  nights,  the  thermometer  fell  to  11°,  7°,  6°,  6° ;  and 
at  Selborne  to  7°,  6°,  10°  ;  and  on  the  31st  January,  just  before 
sunrise,  with  rime  on  the  trees  and  on  the  tube  of  the  glass, 
the  quicksilver  sank  exactly  to  zero,  being  32°  below  the  freez- 
ing point ;  but  by  eleven  in  the  morning,  though  in  the  shade, 
it  sprang  up  to  16^°,^ —  a  most  unusual  degree  of  cold  this  for 
the  south  of  England  !  During  these  four  nights  the  cold  was 
so  penetrating  that  it  occasioned  ice  in  warm  chambers  and 
under  beds ;  and  in  the  day  the  wind  was  so  keen  that  persons 
of  robust  constitutions  could  scarcely  endure  to  face  it.  The 
Thames  was  at  once  so  frozen  over  both  above  and  below  the 
bridge  that  crowds  ran  about  on  the  ice.  The  streets  were  now 
strangely  encumbered  with  snow,  which  crumbled  and  trod 
dusty ;  and,  turning  gray,  resembled  bay-salt ;  what  had  fallen 
on  the  roofs  was  so  perfectly  dry  that,  from  first  to  last,  it  lay 
twenty-six  days  on  the  houses  in  the  city :  a  longer  time  than 
had  been  remembered  by  the  oldest  housekeepers  living.  Ac- 
cording to  all  appearances  we  might  now  have  expected  the 
continuance  of  this  rigorous  weather  for  weeks  to  come,  since 
every  night  increased  in  severity ;  but  behold,  without  any 
apparent  cause,  on  the  ist  February  a  thaw  took  place,  and 
some  rain  followed  before  night,  making  good  the  observation 
above,  that  frosts  often  go  off  as  it  were  at  once,  without  any 
gradual  declension  of  cold.  On  the  2nd  February  the  thaw 
persisted  ;  and  on  the  3rd  swarms  of  little  insects  were  frisk- 
ing and  sporting  in  a  court-yard  at  South  Lambeth,  as  if  they 
had  felt  no  frost.  Why  the  juices  in  the  small  bodies  and 
smaller  limbs  of  such  minute  beings  are  not  frozen  is  a  mat- 
ter of  curious  inquiry. 

Severe  frosts  seem  to  be  partial,  or  to  run  in  currents  ;  for  at 
the  same  juncture,  as  the  author  was  informed  by  accurate 


232  WHITE 

correspondents,  at  Lyndon,  in  the  county  of  Rutland,  the 
thermometer  stood  at  19° ;  at  Blackburn,  in  Lancashire,  at 
19";  and  at  Manchester,  at  21°,  20°,  and  18°.  Thus  does 
some  unknown  circumstance  strangely  overbalance  latitude, 
and  render  the  cold  sometimes  much  greater  in  the  southern 
than  the  northern  parts  of  this  kingdom. 

The  consequences  of  this  severity  were  that  in  Hampshire, 
at  the  melting  of  the  snow,  the  wheat  looked  well,  and  the  tur- 
nips came  forth  little  injured.  The  laurels  and  laurestines 
were  somewhat  damaged,  but  only  in  hot  aspects.  No  ever- 
greens were  quite  destroyed ;  and  not  half  the  damage  sus- 
tained that  befell  in  January  1768.  Those  laurels  that  were 
a  little  scorched  on  the  south  sides  were  perfectly  untouched 
on  their  north  sides.  The  care  taken  to  shake  the  snow  day 
by  day  from  the  branches  seemed  greatly  to  avail  the  author's 
evergreens.  A  neighbor's  laurel-hedge,  in  a  high  situation, 
and  facing  to  the  north,  was  perfectly  green  and  vigorous ;  and 
the  Portugal  laurels  remained  unhurt. 

As  to  the  birds,  the  thrushes  and  blackbirds  were  mostly 
destroyed ;  and  the  partridges,  by  the  weather  and  poachers, 
were  so  thinned  that  few  remained  to  breed  the  following  year. 

Notes 

^  The  autumn  preceding  January  1768  was  very  wet,  and  particularly  the 
month  of  September,  during  which  there  fell  at  Lyndon,  in  the  county  of 
Rutland,  six  inches  and  a  half  of  rain.  And  the  terrible  long  frost  in  1739-40 
set  in  after  a  rainy  season,  and  when  the  springs  were  very  high.  —  G.  W. 

"^  At  Selborne  the  cold  was  greater  than  at  any  other  place  that  the  author 
could  hear  of  with  certainty :  though  some  reported  at  the  time  that  at  a 
village  in  Kent  the  thermometer  fell  two  degrees  below  zero,  viz.,  thirty- 
four  degrees  below  the  freezing  point. 

The  thermometer  used  at  Selborne  was  graduated  by  Benjamin  Martin. 
—  G.  W. 


LETTER   LXIII 

As  the  frost  in  December  1784  was  very  extraordinary,  you, 
I  trust,  will  not  be  displeased  to  hear  the  particulars ;  and 
especially  when  I  promise  to  say  no  more  about  the  severities 
of  winter  after  I  have  finished  this  letter. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  233 

The  first  week  in  December  was  very  wet,  with  the  barom- 
eter very  low.  On  the  7th,  with  the  barometer  at  28.5°, 
came  on  a  vast  snow,  which  continued  all  that  day  and  the 
next,  and  most  part  of  the  following  night ;  so  that  by  the 
morning  of  the  9th  the  works  of  men  were  quite  overwhelmed, 
the  lanes  filled  so  as  to  be  impassable,  and  the  ground  covered 
twelve  or  fifteen  inches  without  any  drifting.  In  the  evening 
of  the  9th  the  air  began  to  be  so  very  sharp  that  we  thought 
it  would  be  curious  to  attend  to  the  motions  of  a  thermometer ; 
we  therefore  hung  out  two,  one  made  by  Martin  and  one 
by  Dollond,  which  soon  began  to  show  us  what  we  were  to 
expect;  for  by  ten  o'clock  they  fell  to  21°,  and  at  eleven  to  4°, 
when  we  went  to  bed.  On  the  loth,  in  the  morning,  the 
quicksilver  of  Dollond's  glass  was  down  to  half  a  degree 
below  zero;  and  that  of  Martin's,  which  was  absurdly  gradu- 
ated only  to  four  degrees  above  zero,  sank  quite  into  the  brass 
guard  of  the  ball;  so  that  when  the  weather  became  most 
interesting  this  was  useless.  On  the  loth,  at  eleven  at  night, 
though  the  air  was  perfectly  still,  Dollond's  glass  went  down 
to  one  degree  below  zero !  This  strange  severity  of  the 
weather  made  me  very  desirous  to  know  what  degree  of  cold 
there  might  be  in  such  an  exalted  and  near  situation  as  New- 
ton.    We  had,  therefore,  on  the  morning  of  the  loth,  written 

to  Mr. ,  and  entreated  him  to  hang  out  his  thermometer, 

made  by  Adams,  and  to  pay  some  attention  to  it  morning  and 
evening,  expecting  wonderful  phenomena,  in  so  elevated  a 
region,  at  two  hundred  feet  or  more  above  my  house.  But, 
behold  !  on  the  loth,  at  eleven  at  night,  it  was  down  only  to 
17°,  and  the  next  morning  at  22°,  when  mine  was  at  10° !  We 
were  so^disturbed  at  this  unexpected  reverse  of  comparative 
local  cold,  that  we  sent  one  of  my  glasses  up,  thinking  that  of 

Mr. must,  somehow,  be  wrongly  constructed.     But,  when 

the  instruments  came  to  be  confronted,  they  went  exactly  to- 
gether ;  so  that,  for  one  night  at  least,  the  cold  at  Newton  was 
18°  less  than  at  Selborne,  and,  through  the  whole  frost,  10° 
or  12°;  and  indeed,  v/hen  we  came  to  observe  consequences, 
we  could  readily  credit  this;  for  all  my  laurestines,  bays, 
ilexes,  arbutuses,  cypresses,  and  even  my  Portugal  laurels,  and 
(which  occasions  more  regret)  my  fine  sloping  laurel-hedge. 


234  WHITE 

were  scorched  up,  while  at  Newton  the  same  trees  have  not 
lost  a  leaf. 

We  had  steady  frost  on  the  25th,  when  the  thermometer  in 
the  morning  was  down  to  10°  with  us,  and  at  Newton  only  to 
21°.  Strong  frost  continued  till  the  3 1  st,  when  some  tendency 
to  thaw  was  observed;  and,  by  January  3rd,  1785,  the  thaw 
was  confirmed,  and  some  rain  fell. 

A  circumstance  that  I  must  not  omit,  because  it  was  new  to 
us,  is  that  on  Friday,  December  lOth,  being  bright  sunshine, 
the  air  was  full  of  icy  spicules,  floating  in  all  directions,  like 
atoms  in  a  sunbeam  let  into  a  dark  room.  We  thought  them 
at  first  particles  of  the  rime  falling  from  my  tall  hedges ;  but 
were  soon  convinced  to  the  contrary,  by  making  our  observa- 
tions in  open  places  where  no  rime  could  reach  us.  Were  they 
watery  particles  of  the  air  frozen  as  they  floated,  or  were  they 
evaporations  from  the  snow  frozen  as  they  mounted  .■* 

We  were  much  obliged  to  the  thermometers  for  the  early 
information  they  gave  us ;  and  hurried  our  apples,  pears,  onions, 
potatoes,  etc.,  into  the  cellar,  and  warm  closets ;  while  those 
who  had  not,  or  neglected  such  warnings,  lost  all  their  store  of 
roots  and  fruits,  and  had  their  very  bread  and  cheese  frozen. 

I  must  not  omit  to  tell  you  that,  during  these  two  Siberian 
days,  my  parlor  cat  was  so  electric,  that  had  a  person  stroked 
her,  and  been  properly  insulated,  the  shock  might  have  been 
given  to  a  whole  circle  of  people. 

I  forgot  to  mention  before  that,  during  the  two  severe  days, 
two  men,  who  were  tracing  hares  in  the  snow,  had  their  feet 
frozen,  and  two  men,  who  were  much  better  employed,  had 
their  fingers  so  affected  by  the  frost,  while  they  were  thrash- 
ing in  a  barn,  that  a  mortification  followed,  from  which  they 
did  not  recover  for  many  weeks. 

This  frost  killed  all  the  furze  and  most  of  the  ivy,  and  in 
many  places  stripped  the  hollies  of  all  their  leaves.  It  came 
at  a  very  early  time  of  the  year,  before  old  November  ended  ; 
and  yet  may  be  allowed  from  its  effects  to  have  exceeded  any 
since  1730-40. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  235 


LETTER   LXIV 

As  the  effects  of  heat  are  seldom  very  remarkable  in  the 
northerly  climate  of  England,  where  the  summers  are  often 
so  defective  in  warmth  and  sunshine  as  not  to  ripen  the  fruits 
of  the  earth  so  well  as  might  be  wished,  I  shall  be  more  con- 
cise in  my  account  of  the  severity  of  a  summer  season,  and 
so  make  a  little  amends  for  the  prolix  account  of  the  degrees 
of  cold,  and  the  inconveniences  that  we  suffered  from  some 
late  rigorous  winters. 

The  summers  of  1781  and  1783  were  unusually  hot  and 
dry;  to  them  therefore  I  shall  turn  back  in  my  journals,  with- 
out recurring  to  any  more  distant  period.  In  the  former  of 
these  years  my  peach  and  nectarine  trees  suffered  so  much 
from  the  heat  that  the  rind  on  the  bodies  was  scalded  and  came 
off  ;  since  which  the  trees  have  been  in  a  decaying  state.  This 
may  prove  a  hint  to  assiduous  gardeners  to  fence  and  shelter 
their  wall  trees  with  mats  or  boards,  as  they  may  easily  do, 
because  such  annoyance  is  seldom  of  long  continuance.  Dur- 
ing that  summer  also,  I  observed  that  my  apples  were  coddled, 
as  it  were,  on  the  trees  ;  so  that  they  had  no  quickness  of  flavor, 
and  would  not  keep  in  the  winter.  This  circumstance  put  me 
in  mind  of  what  I  have  heard  travellers  assert,  that  they  never 
ate  a  good  apple  or  apricot  in  the  south  of  Europe,  where  the 
heats  were  so  great  as  to  render  the  juices  vapid  and  insipid. 

The  great  pests  of  a  garden  are  wasps,  which  destroy  all 
the  finer  fruits  just  as  they  are  coming  into  perfection.  In 
1 78 1  we  had  none;  in  1783  there  were  myriads;  which  would 
have  devoured  all  the  produce  of  my  garden,  had  not  we  set 
the  boys  to  take  the  nests,  and  caught  thousands  with  hazel- 
twigs  tipped  with  bird-lime  :  we  have  since  employed  the  boys 
to  take  and  destroy  the  large  breeding  wasps  in  the  spring. 
Such  expedients  have  a  great  effect  on  these  marauders,  and 
will  keep  them  under.  Though  wasps  do  not  abound  but  in 
hot  summers,  yet  they  do  not  prevail  in  every  hot  summer,  as 
I  have  instanced  in  the  two  years  above-mentioned. 

In  the  sultry  season  of  1783,  honey-dews  were  so  frequent 
as  to  deface  and  destroy  the  beauties  of  my  garden.     My 


236  WHITE 

honeysuckles,  which  were  one  week  the  most  sweet  and  lovely 
objects  that  the  eye  could  behold,  became  the  next  the  most 
loathsome;  being  enveloped  in  a  viscous  substance,  and  loaded 
with  black  aphides,  or  smother-flies.  The  occasion  of  this 
clammy  appearance  seems  to  be  this,  that  in  hot  weather 
the  effluvia  of  flowers  in  fields  and  meadows  and  gardens  are 
drawn  up  in  the  day  by  a  brisk  evaporation,  and  then  in 
the  night  fall  down  again  with  the  dews,  in  which  they  are 
entangled ;  that  the  air  is  strongly  scented,  and  therefore 
impregnated  with  the  particles  of  flowers  in  summer  weather, 
our  senses  will  inform  us;  and  that  this  clammy  sweet  sub- 
stance is  of  the  vegetable  kind  we  may  learn  from  bees,  to 
whom  it  is  very  grateful :  and  we  may  be  assured  that  it  falls 
in  the  night,  because  it  is  always  first  seen  in  warm  still 
mornings.^ 

On  chalky  and  sandy  soils,  and  in  the  hot  villages  about 
London,  the  thermometer  has  been  often  observed  to  mount 
as  high  as  83°  or  84°  ;  but  with  us,  in  this  hilly  and  woody  dis- 
trict, I  have  hardly  ever  seen  it  exceed  80° ;  nor  does  it  often 
arrive  at  that  pitch.  The  reason,  I  conclude,  is  that  our 
dense  clayey  soil,  so  much  shaded  by  trees,  is  not  so  easily 
heated  through  as  those  above-mentioned ;  and,  besides,  our 
mountains  cause  currents  of  air  and  breezes ;  and  the  vast 
effluvia  from  our  wood-lands  temper  and  moderate  our  heats. 

Note 

^  White's  explanation  of  the  origin  of  honey-dew  is  ingenious  but  incor- 
rect. It  is  now  ascertained  to  be  an  exudation  from  the  aphides  themselves. 
It  is  by  some  called  their  excrement.  — G.  C.  D. 


LETTER   LXV 

The  summer  of  the  year  1783  was  an  amazing  and  por- 
tentous one,  and  full  of  horrible  phenomena ;  for,  besides 
the  alarming  meteors  and  tremendous  thunder-storms  that 
affrighted  and  distressed  the  different  counties  of  this  king- 
dom, the  peculiar  haze,  or  smoky  fog,  that  prevailed  for  many 
weeks  in  this  island,  and  in  every  part  of  Europe,  and  even 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE  237 

beyond    its    limits,   was   a   most   extraordinary   appearance, 

unlike  anything  known  within  the  memory  of  man.     By  my 

journal  I  find  that  I  had  noticed  this  strange  occurrence  from 

June  23rd  to  July  20th  inclusive,  during  which  period  the  wind 

varied  to  every  quarter  without  making  any  alteration  in  the 

air.     The  sun,  at  noon,  looked  as  blank  as  a  clouded  moon, 

and  shed  a  rust-colored  ferruginous  light  on  the  ground,  and 

floors  of  rooms ;  but  was  particularly  lurid  and  blood-colored 

at  rising  and  setting.     All  the  time  the  heat  was  so  intense 

that  butcher's  meat  could  hardly  be  eaten  on  the  day  after  it 

was  killed ;  and  the  flies  swarmed  so  in  the  lanes  and  hedges 

that  they  rendered  the  horses  half  frantic,  and  riding  irksome. 

The  country-people  began  to  look  with  a  superstitious  awe  at  the 

red,  lowering  aspect  of  the  sun ;  and  indeed  there  was  reason 

for  the  most  enlightened  person  to  be  apprehensive ;  for,  all 

the  while,  Calabria  and  a  part  of  the  Isle  of  Sicily  were  torn 

and  convulsed  with  earthquakes ;  and  about  that  juncture  a 

volcano  sprang  out  of  the  sea  on  the  coast  of  Norway.     On 

this  occasion  Milton's  noble  simile  of  the  sun,  in  his  first  book 

of  "  Paradise  Lost,"  frequently  occurred  to  my  mind ;  and  it 

is  indeed  particularly  applicable,  because,  towards  the  end,  it 

alludes  to  a  superstitious  kind  of  dread,  with  which  the  minds 

of  men  are  always  impressed  by  such  strange  and  unusual 

phenomena. 

.     .     .     "As  when  the  sun,  new  risen, 

Looks  through  the  horizontal,  misty  air, 

Shorn  of  his  beams  ;  or  from  behind  the  moon, 

In  dim  eclipse,  disastrous  twilight  sheds 

On  half  the  nations,  and  \si\.h.  fear  oi  change 

Perplexes  monarchs."     .     .     . 


LETTER   LXVI 

We  are  very  seldom  annoyed  with  thunder-storms :  and  it 
is  no  less  remarkable  than  true,  that  those  which  arise  in  the 
south  have  hardly  been  known  to  reach  this  village ;  for, 
before  they  get  over  us,  they  take  a  direction  to  the  east  or  to 
the  west,  or  sometimes  divide  in  two,  go  in  part  to  one  of  those 
quarters,  and  in  part  to  the  other ;  as  was  truly  the  case  in 


238  WHITE 

summer  1783,  when,  though  the  country  round  was  continu- 
ally harassed  with  tempests,  and  often  from  the  south,  yet  we 
escaped  them  all,  as  appears  by  my  journal  of  that  summer. 
The  only  way  that  I  can  at  all  account  for  this  fact  —  for  such 
it  is  —  is  that,  on  that  quarter,  between  us  and  the  sea,  there 
are  continual  mountains,  hill  behind  hill,  such  as  Nore  Hill,  the 
Barnet,  Butser  Hill,  and  Ports  Down,  which  somehow  divert 
the  storms  and  give  them  a  different  direction.  High  prom- 
ontories, and  elevated  grounds,  have  always  been  observed 
to  attract  clouds  and  disarm  them  of  their  mischievous  con- 
tents, which  are  discharged  into  the  trees  and  summits  as  soon 
as  they  come  in  contact  with  those  turbulent  meteors ;  while 
the  humble  vales  escape,  because  they  are  so  far  beneath 
them. 

But,  when  I  say  I  do  not  remember  a  thunder-storm  from 
the  south,  I  do  not  mean  that  we  never  have  suffered  from 
thunder-storms  at  all;  for  on  June  5th,  1784,  the  thermom- 
eter in  the  morning  being  at  64°,  and  at  noon  at  70°,  the 
barometer  at  29.6^°  and  the  wind  north,  I  observed  a  blue 
mist,  smelling  strongly  of  sulphur,  hanging  along  our  sloping 
woods,  and  seeming  to  indicate  that  thunder  was  at  hand.  I 
was  called  in  about  two  in  the  afternoon,  and  so  missed  seeing 
the  gathering  of  the  clouds  in  the  north  ;  which  they  who  were 
abroad  assured  me  had  something  uncommon  in  its  appear- 
ance. At  about  a  quarter  after  two  the  storm  began  in  the 
parish  of  Harteley,  moving  slowly  from  north  to  south :  and 
from  thence  it  came  over  Norton  Farm,  and  so  to  Grange 
Farm,  both  in  this  parish.  It  began  with  vast  drops  of  rain, 
which  were  soon  succeeded  by  round  hail,  and  then  by  con- 
vex pieces  of  ice,  which  measured  three  inches  in  girth.  Had 
it  been  as  extensive  as  it  was  violent,  and  of  any  continuance 
(for  it  was  very  short),  it  must  have  ravaged  all  the  neighbor- 
hood. In  the  parish  of  Harteley  it  did  some  damage  to  one 
farm ;  but  Norton,  which  lay  in  the  centre  of  the  storm,  was 
greatly  injured  ;  as  was  Grange,  which  lay  next  to  it.  It  did 
but  just  reach  to  the  middle  of  the  village,  where  the  hail  broke 
my  north  windows,  and  all  my  garden-lights  and  hand-glasses, 
and  many  of  my  neighbors'  windows.  The  extent  of  the 
storm  was  about  two  miles  in  length  and  one  in  breadth.     We 


NATURAL   HISTORY   OF    SELBORNE  239 

were  just  sitting  down  to  dinner  ;  but  were  soon  diverted  from 
our  repast  by  the  clattering  of  tiles  and  the  jingling  of  glass. 
There  fell  at  the  same  time  prodigious  torrents  of  rain  on  the 
farms  above-mentioned,  which  occasioned  a  flood  as  violent  as 
it  was  sudden ;  doing  great  damage  to  the  meadows  and  fal- 
lows, by  deluging  the  one  and  washing  away  the  soil  of  the 
other.  The  hollow  lane  towards  Alton  was  so  torn  and  dis- 
ordered as  not  to  be  passable  till  mended,  rocks  being  removed 
that  weighed  two  hundred-weight.  Those  that  saw  the  effect 
which  the  great  hail  had  on  ponds  and  pools  say  that  the  dash- 
ing of  the  water  made  an  extraordinary  appearance,  the  froth 
and  spray  standing  up  in  the  air  three  feet  above  the  sur- 
face. The  rushing  and  roaring  of  the  hail,  as  it  approached, 
was  truly  tremendous. 

Though  the  clouds  at  South  Lambeth,  near  London,  were 
at  that  juncture  thin  and  light,  and  no  storm  was  in  sight,  nor 
within  hearing,  yet  the  air  was  strongly  electric ;  for  the  bells 
of  an  electric  machine  at  that  place  rang  repeatedly,  and 
fierce  sparks  were  discharged. 

When  I  first  took  the  present  work  in  hand  I  proposed  to 
have  added  an  "Annus  Historico-naturalis,"  or  "The  Natural 
History  of  the  Twelve  Months  of  the  Year;"  which  would 
have  comprised  many  incidents  and  occurrences  that  have  not 
fallen  in  my  way  to  be  mentioned  in  my  series  of  letters  ;  but, 
as  Mr.  Aikin  of  Warrington  has  lately  published  somewhat 
of  this  sort,  and  as  the  length  of  my  correspondence  has 
sufficiently  put  your  patience  to  the  test,  I  shall  here  take  a 
respectful  leave  of  you  and  natural  history  together,  and  am, 

With  all  due  deference  and  regard, 

Your  most  obliged  and  most  humble  servant, 

GIL.  WHITE. 
Selborne, 
June  2-)th,  1785. 


THE 

ANTIQUITIES    OF   SELBORNE 


LETTER   I 

IT  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  in  remote  ages  this  woody 
and  mountainous  district  was  inhabited  only  by  bears  and 
wolves.  Whether  the  Britons  ever  thought  it  worthy  their 
attention  is  not  in  our  power  to  determine ;  but  we  may  safely 
conclude,  from  circumstances,  that  it  was  not  unknown  to  the 
Romans.  Old  people  remember  to  have  heard  their  fathers 
and  grandfathers  say  that,  in  dry  summers  and  in  windy 
weather,  pieces  of  money  were  sometimes  found  round  the 
verge  of  Wolmer  Pond ;  and  tradition  had  inspired  the  forest- 
ers with  a  notion  that  the  bottom  of  that  lake  contained  great 
stores  of  treasure.  During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1740 
there  was  little  rain;  and  the  following  summer  also,  1741, 
was  so  uncommonly  dry  that  many  springs  and  ponds  failed, 
and  this  lake  in  particular,  whose  bed  became  as  dusty  as 
the  surrounding  heaths  and  wastes.  This  favorable  juncture 
induced  some  of  the  forest-cottagers  to  begin  a  search,  which 
was  attended  with  such  success,  that  all  the  laborers  in  the 
neighborhood  flocked  to  the  spot,  and  with  spades  and  hoes 
turned  up  great  part  of  that  large  area.  Instead  of  pots  of 
coins,  as  they  expected,  they  found  great  heaps,  the  one  lying 
on  the  other,  as  if  shot  out  of  a  bag ;  many  of  which  were  in 
good  preservation.  Silver  and  gold  these  inquirers  expected 
to  find ;  but  their  discoveries  consisted  solely  of  many  hun- 
dreds of  Roman  copper  coins,  and  some  medallions,  all  of  the 
lower  empire.  There  was  not  much  virtu  stirring  at  that  time 
in  this  neighborhood  ;  however,  some  of  the  gentry  and  clergy 
17  241 


242  WHITE 

around  bought  what  pleased  them  best,  and  some  dozens  fell 
to  the  share  of  the  author.^ 

The  owners  at  first  held  their  commodity  at  a  high  price ; 
but,  finding  that  they  were  not  likely  to  meet  with  dealers  at 
such  a  rate,  they  soon  lowered  their  terms,  and  sold  the  fair- 
est as  they  could.  The  coins  that  were  rejected  became 
current,  and  passed  for  farthings  at  the  petty  shops.  Of 
those  that  we  saw,  the  greater  part  were  of  Marcus  Aurelius, 
and  the  Empress  Faustina,  his  wife,  the  father  and  mother 
of  Commodus.  Some  of  Faustina  were  in  high  relief,  and 
exhibited  a  ver)'-  agreeable  set  of  features,  which  probably 
resembled  that  lady,  who  was  more  celebrated  for  her  beauty 
than  for  her  virtues.  The  medallions  in  general  were  of  a 
paler  color  than  the  coins.  To  pretend  to  account  for  the 
means  of  their  coming  to  this  place  would  be  spending  time 
in  conjecture.  The  spot,  I  think,  could  not  be  a  Roman  camp, 
because  it  is  commanded  by  hills  on  two  sides ;  nor  does  it 
show  the  least  traces  of  entrenchments ;  nor  can  I  suppose  that 
it  was  a  Roman  town,  because  I  have  too  good  an  opinion  of 
the  taste  and  judgment  of  those  polished  conquerors  to  imagine 
that  they  would  settle  on  so  barren  and  dreary  a  waste. 

Note 

^  In  October  1873  two  earthenware  vessels  were  found  two  feet  under  the 
surface  of  a  field  near  Selborne  containing  about  thirty  thousand  Roman 
and  Roman-British  coins. 


LETTER   II 

That  Selborne  was  a  place  of  some  distinction  and  note  in 
the  time  of  the  Saxons  we  can  give  most  undoubted  proofs. 
But,  as  there  are  few  if  any  accounts  of  the  villages  before 
Domesday,  it  will  be  best  to  begin  with  that  venerable  record. 
"  Ipse  rex  tenet  Selesburne.  Eddid  regina  tenuit,  et  nunquam 
geldavit.  De  isto  manerio  dono  dedit  rex  Radfredo  presby- 
tero  dimidiam  hidam  cum  ecclesia.  Tempore  regis  Edwardi 
et  post,  valuit  duodecim  solidos  et  sex  denarios ;  modo  octo 
solidos  et  quatuor  denarios."  Here  we  see  that  Selborne  was 
a  royal  manor:  and  that  Editha,  the  queen  of  Edward  the 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  243 

Confessor,  had  been  lady  of  that  manor,  and  was  succeeded 
in  it  by  the  Conqueror,  and  that  it  had  a  church.  Besides 
these,  many  circumstances  concur  to  prove  it  to  have  been 
a  Saxon  village  ;  such  as  the  name  of  the  place  itself,^  the 
names  of  many  fields,  and  some  families,^  with  a  variety  of 
words  in  husbandry  and  common  life,  still  subsisting  among 
the  country-people. 

What  probably  first  drew  the  attention  of  the  Saxons  to  this 
spot  was  the  beautiful  spring  or  fountain  called  Well  Head,^ 
which  induced  them  to  build  by  the  banks  of  that  perennial 
current ;  for  ancient  settlers  loved  to  reside  by  brooks  and 
rivulets,  where  they  could  dip  for  their  water  without  the 
trouble  and  expense  of  digging  wells  and  of  drawing. 

It  remains  still  unsettled  among  the  antiquaries  at  what 
time  tracts  of  land  were  first  appropriated  to  the  chase  alone 
for  the  amusement  of  the  sovereign.  Whether  our  Saxon 
monarchs  had  any  royal  forests  does  not,  I  believe,  appear 
on  record;  but  the  "  Constitutiones  de  Foresta"  of  Canute, 
the  Dane,  are  come  down  to  us.  We  shall  not,  therefore, 
pretend  to  say  whether  Wolmer  Forest  existed  as  a  royal 
domain  before  the  conquest.  If  it  did  not,  we  may  suppose 
it  was  laid  out  by  some  of  our  earliest  Norman  kings,  who 
were  exceedingly  attached  to  the  pleasures  of  the  chase,  and 
resided  much  at  Winchester,  which  lies  at  a  moderate  distance 
from  this  district.  The  Plantagenet  princes  seem  to  have  been 
pleased  with  Wolmer,  for  tradition  says  that  King  John  re- 
sided just  upon  the  verge,  at  Ward  le  Ham,  on  a  regular  and 
remarkable  mount,  still  called  King  John's  Hill,  and  Lodge 
Hill;  and  Edward  III.  had  a  chapel  in  his  park,  or  enclosure, 
at  Kingsley.*  Humphrey,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  and  Richard, 
Duke  of  York,  say  my  evidences,  were  both,  in  their  turns, 
wardens  of  Wolmer  Forest,  which  seems  to  have  served  for 
an  appointment  for  the  younger  princes  of  the  royal  family, 
as  it  may  again. 

I  have  intentionally  mentioned  Edward  III.  and  the  dukes 
Humphrey  and  Richard,  before  King  Edward  II.,  because  I 
have  reserved,  for  the  entertainment  of  my  readers,  a  pleas- 
ant anecdote  respecting  that  prince,  with  which  I  shall  close 
this  letter. 


244  WHITE 

As  Edward  II.  was  hunting  on  Wolmer  Forest,  Morris  Ken, 
of  the  kitchen,  fell  from  his  horse  several  times,  at  which  ac- 
cidents the  king  laughed  immoderately  ;  and,  when  the  chase 
was  over,  ordered  him  twenty  shillings,^  an  enormous  sum  for 
those  days !  Proper  allowances  ought  to  be  made  for  the 
youth  of  this  monarch,  whose  spirits  also,  we  may  suppose, 
were  much  exhilarated  by  the  sport  of  the  day ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  it  is  reasonable  to  remark  that,  whatever  might 
be  the  occasions  of  Ken's  first  fall,  the  subsequent  ones  seem 
to  have  been  designed.  The  scullion  appears  to  have  been 
an  artful  fellow,  and  to  have  seen  the  king's  foible,  which  fur- 
nishes an  early  specimen  of  that  his  easy  softness  and  facility 
of  temper,  of  which  the  infamous  Gaveston  took  such  advan- 
tages as  brought  innumerable  calamities  on  the  nation  and 
involved  the  prince  at  last  in  misfortunes  and  sufferings  too 
deplorable  to  be  mentioned  without  horror  and  amazement. 

Notes 

1  Selesbiirne,  Seleburne^  Selbiirti^  Selboiirn,  Selborne,  and  Selborn,  as  it 
has  been  variously  spelt  at  different  periods,  is  of  Saxon  derivation  ;  for  Sel 
signifies  great,  and  biir7i  torrens,  a  brook  or  rivulet :  so  that  the  name  seems 
to  be  derived  from  the  great  perennial  stream  that  breaks  out  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  village. — Sel  also  signifies  bonus,  \\.Qxa.  foecimdics,  fer tills .  "Sel 
saepr-cun  :  fcectinda  gramiiiis  clausura  ;  fertile  pasciiiun :  a  meadow  in  the 
parish  of  Godelmitig  is  still  called  Sal-gars-ton.''''  Lye's  Saxon  Dictio7iary, 
in  the  Sjipplemefit,  by  Mr.  Manning.  —  G.  W. 

2  Thus,  the  name  oiAldredsigmfits  all-reverend,  and  that  oiKemp  means 
a  soldier.  Thus  we  have  a  church-litten,  or  enclosure  for  dead  bodies,  and 
not  a  church-yard ;  there  is  also  a  Culver-croft  near  the  Grange  Farm,  being 
the  enclosure  where  the  priory  pigeon-house  stood,  from  culver  a  pigeon. 
Again  there  are  three  steep  pastures  in  this  parish  called  the  Lith,  from 
Hlithe,  clivus.  The  wicker-work  that  binds  and  fastens  down  a  hedge  on 
the  top  is  called  ether,  from  ether,  a  hedge.  When  the  good  women  call 
their  hogs  they  cry  sic,  sic,*  not  knowing  that  sic  is  Saxon,  or  rather  Celtic, 
for  a  hog.  Coppice  or  brushwood  our  countrymen  call  rise,  from  hris, 
frondes  ;  and  talk  of  a  load  oirise.  Within  the  author's  memory  the  Saxon 
plurals,  housen  and  peason,  were  in  common  use.  But  it  would  be  endless 
to  instance  in  every  circumstance  :  he  that  wishes  for  more  specimens  must 
frequent  a  farmer's  kitchen.     I  have  therefore  selected  some  words  to  show 

*  Si'ko,  porcus  apud  Lacones;  un  Porceau  chez  les  Lac6demoniens  :  ce  mot  a  sans 
doute  est6  pris  des  Celtes,  qui  disent  sic,  pour  marquer  un  porceau.  Encore  aujour'huy 
quand  le  Bretons  chassent  ces  animaux,  ils  ne  disent  autrement  que  sic,  sic.  AntiquiU 
de  la  Nation  et  de  la  Langue  des  Celtes,  par  Pezron.  —  G.  C.  D. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  245 

how  familiar  the  Saxon  dialect  was  to  this  district,  since  in  more  than  seven 
hundred  years  it  is  far  from  being  obliterated.  —  G.  W. 

3  Well  head  signifies  spring  head,  and  not  a  deep  pit  from  whence  we 
draw  water.  For  particulars  about  which  see  Letter  I.  to  Mr.  Pennant. — 
G.  W. 

*  The  parish  of  Kingsley  lies  between  and  divides  Wolmer  Forest  from 
Ayles  Holt  Forest.     See  Letter  IX.  to  Mr.  Pennant.  —  G.  W. 

s  "  Item,  paid  at  the  lodge  at  Wolmer,  when  the  king  was  stag-hunting 
there,  to  Morris  Ken,  of  the  kitchen,  because  he  rode  before  the  king  and 
often  fell  from  his  horse,  at  which  the  king  laughed  exceedingly  —  a  gift,  by 
command,  of  twenty  shillings."  —  A  MS.  in  possession  of  Thomas  Astle, 
Esq.,  containing  the  private  expenses  of  Edward  II.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   III 

From  the  silence  of  Domesday  respecting  churches,  it  has 
been  supposed  that  few  villages  had  any  at  the  time  when 
that  record  was  taken ;  but  Selborne,  we  see,  enjoyed  the 
benefit  of  one :  hence  we  may  conclude  that  this  place  was 
in  no  abject  state  even  at  that  very  distant  period.  How 
many  fabrics  have  succeeded  each  other  since  the  days  of 
Radfredrus  the  presbyter,  we  cannot  pretend  to  say ;  our 
business  leads  us  to  a  description  of  the  present  edifice,  in 
which  we  shall  be  circumstantial. 

Our  church,  which  was  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  con- 
sists of  three  aisles,  and  measures  fifty-four  feet  in  length  by 
forty-seven  in  breadth,  being  almost  as  broad  as  it  is  long. 
The  present  building  has  no  pretensions  to  antiquity,  and  is, 
as  I  suppose,  of  no  earlier  date  than  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VII.  It  is  perfectly  plain  and  unadorned, 
without  painted  glass,  carved  work,  sculpture,  or  tracery.  But 
when  I  say  it  has  no  claim  to  antiquity,  I  would  mean  to  be 
understood  the  fabric  in  general;  for  the  pillars,  which  sup- 
port the  roof,  are  undoubtedly  old,  being  of  that  low,  squat, 
thick  order  usually  called  Saxon.  These,  I  should  imagine, 
upheld  the  roof  of  a  former  church,  which,  falling  into  decay, 
was  rebuilt  on  those  massy  props,  because  their  strength  had 
preserved  them  from  the  injuries  of  time.^  Upon  these  rest 
blunt  Gothic  arches,  such  as  prevailed  in  the  reign  above- 


246  •      WHITE 

mentioned,  and  by  which,  as  a  criterion,  we  would  prove  the 
date  of  the  building. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  south  aisle,  between  the  west  and 
south  doors,  stands  the  font,  which  is  deep  and  capacious, 
and  consists  of  three  massy  round  stones,  piled  one  on  another, 
without  the  least  ornament  or  sculpture :  the  cavity  at  the 
top  is  lined  with  lead,  and  has  a  pipe  at  the  bottom  to  convey 
off  the  water  after  the  sacred  ceremony  is  performed. 

The  east  end  of  the  south  aisle  is  called  the  South  Chancel, 
and,  till  within  these  thirty  years,  was  divided  off  by  old  carved 
Gothic  framework  of  timber,  having  been  a  private  chantry. 
In  this  opinion  we  are  more  confirmed  by  observing  two  Gothic 
niches  within  the  space,  the  one  in  the  east  wall  and  the  other 
in  the  south,  near  which  there  probably  stood  images  and 
altars. 

In  the  middle  aisle  there  is  nothing  remarkable :  but  I 
remember  when  its  beams  were  hung  with  garlands  in  honor 
of  young  women  of  the  parish,  reputed  to  have  died  virgins ; 
and  recollect  to  have  seen  the  clerk's  wife  cutting,  in  white 
paper,  the  resemblances  of  gloves,  and  ribbons  to  be  twisted 
in  knots  and  roses,  to  decorate  these  memorials  of  chastity. 
In  the  church  of  Faringdon,  which  is  the  next  parish,  many 
garlands  of  this  sort  still  remain. 

The  north  aisle  is  narrow  and  low,  with  a  sloping  ceiling, 
reaching  within  eight  or  nine  feet  of  the  floor.  It  had  origi- 
nally a  flat  roof,  covered  with  lead,  till,  within  a  century  past^ 
a  church-warden  stripping  off  the  lead,  in  order,  as  he  said, 
to  have  it  mended,  sold  it  to  a  plumber,  and  ran  away  with 
the  money.  This  aisle  has  no  door,  for  an  obvious  reason  ; 
because  the  north  side  of  the  church-yard,  being  surrounded 
by  the  vicarage-garden,  affords  no  path  to  that  side  of  the 
church.  Nothing  can  be  more  irregular  than  the  pews  of 
this  church,  which  are  of  all  dimensions  and  heights,  being 
patched  up  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  owners  ;  but  whoever 
nicely  examines  them  will  find  that  the  middle  aisle  had,  on 
each  side,  a  regular  row  of  benches  of  solid  oak,  all  alike,  with 
a  low  back-board  to  each.  These  we  should  not  hesitate  to  say 
are  coeval  with  the  present  church ;  and  especially  as  it  is 
to  be  observed  that,  at  their  ends,  they  are  ornamented  with 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  247 

carved  blunt  Gothic  niches,  exactly  correspondent  to  the  arches 
of  the  church,  and  to  a  niche  in  the  south  wall.  The  fourth 
aisle  also  has  a  row  of  these  benches ;  but  some  are  decayed 
through  age,  and  the  rest  much  disguised  by  modern  altera- 
tions. 

At  the  upper  end  of  this  aisle,  and  running  out  to  the  north, 
stands  a  transept,  known  by  the  name  of  the  North  Chancel, 
measuring  twenty-one  feet  from  south  to  north  and  nineteen 
feet  from  east  to  west :  this  was  intended,  no  doubt,  as  a  private 
chantry;  and  was  also,  till  of  late,  divided  off  by  a  Gothic  frame- 
work of  timber.  In  its  north  wall,  under  a  very  blunt  Gothic 
arch,  lies  perhaps  the  founder  of  this  edifice,  which,  from  the 
shape  of  its  arch,  may  be  deemed  no  older  than  the  latter  end 
of  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  The  tomb  was  examined  some 
years  ago,  but  contained  nothing  except  the  skull  and  thigh- 
bones of  a  large  tall  man,  and  the  bones  of  a  youth  or  woman, 
lying  in  a  very  irregular  manner,  without  any  escutcheon  or 
other  token  to  ascertain  the  names  or  rank  of  the  deceased. 
The  grave  was  very  shallow,  and  lined  with  stone  at  the  bottom 
and  on  the  sides. 

From  the  east  wall  project  four  stone  brackets,  which  I  con- 
clude supported  images  and  crucifixes.  In  the  great  thick 
pilaster,  jutting  out  between  this  transept  and  the  chancel, 
there  is  a  very  sharp  Gothic  niche,  of  older  date  than  the 
present  chantry  or  church.  But  the  chief  pieces  of  antiquity 
are  two  narrow  stone  coffin-lids,  which  compose  part  of  the 
floor,  and  lie  from  west  to  east,  with  the  very  narrow  ends 
eastward :  these  belong  to  remote  times ;  and,  if  originally 
placed  here,  which  I  doubt,  must  have  been  part  of  the  pave- 
ment of  an  older  transept.  At  present  there  are  no  coffins 
under  them,  whence  I  conclude  they  have  been  removed  to 
this  place  from  some  part  of  a  former  church.  One  of  these 
lids  is  so  eaten  by  time,  that  no  sculpture  can  be  discovered 
upon  it ;  or,  perhaps,  it  may  be  the  wrong  side  uppermost;  but 
on  the  other,  which  seems  to  be  of  stone  of  a  closer  and  harder 
texture,  is  to  be  discerned  a  discus,  with  a  cross  on  it,  at  the 
end  of  a  staff  or  rod,  the  well-known  symbol  of  a  Knight 
Templar.2 

This  order  was  distinguished  by  a  red  cross  on  the  left 


248  WHITE 

shoulder  of  their  cloak,  and  by  this  attribute  in  their  hand. 
Now,  if  these  stones  belonged  to  Knights  Templars,  they  must 
have  lain  here  many  centuries ;  for  this  order  came  into  Eng- 
land early  in  the  reign  of  King  Stephen  in  1 1 1 3 ;  and  was  dis- 
solved in  the  time  of  Edward  II.  in  13 12,  having  subsisted  only 
one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  years.  Why  I  should  suppose 
that  Knights  Templars  were  occasionally  buried  at  this  church 
will  appear  in  some  future  letter,  when  we  come  to  treat  more 
particularly  concerning  the  property  they  possessed  here  and 
the  intercourse  that  subsisted  between  them  and  the  priors  of 
Selborne. 

We  must  now  proceed  to  the  chancel,  properly  so-called, 
which  seems  to  be  coeval  with  the  church,  and  is  in  the  same 
plain,  unadorned  style,  though  neatly  kept.  This  room  meas- 
ures thirty-one  feet  in  length,  and  sixteen  feet  and  a  half  in 
breadth,  and  is  wainscoted  all  round,  as  high  as  to  the  bottom 
of  the  windows.  The  space  for  the  communion  table  is  raised 
two  steps  above  the  rest  of  the  floor,  and  railed  in  with  oaken 
balusters.  Here  I  shall  say  somewhat  of  the  windows  of  the 
chancel  in  particular,  and  of  the  whole  fabric  in  general.  They 
are  mostly  of  that  simple  and  unadorned  sort  called  lancet, 
some  single,  some  double,  and  some  in  triplets.  At  the  east 
end  of  the  chancel  are  two  of  a  moderate  size,  near  each 
other ;  and  in  the  north  wall  two  very  distant  small  ones,  un- 
equal in  length  and  height :  and  in  the  south  wall  are  two,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  chancel  door,  that  are  broad  and  squat, 
and  of  a  different  order.  At  the  east  end  of  the  south  aisle  of 
the  church  there  is  a  large  lancet  window  in  a  triplet ;  and  two 
very  small,  narrow,  single  ones  in  the  south  wall,  and  a  broad 
squat  window  beside,  and  a  double  lancet  one  in  the  west  end  ; 
so  that  the  appearance  is  very  irregular.  In  the  north  aisle  are 
two  windows,  made  shorter  when  the  roof  was  sloped ;  and  in 
the  north  transept  a  large  triple  window,  shortened  at  the  time 
of  a  repair  in  1 72 1 ,  when  over  it  was  opened  a  round  one  of 
considerable  size,  which  affords  an  agreeable  light,  and  renders 
that  chantry  the  most  cheerful  part  of  the  edifice. 

The  church  and  chancels  have  all  covered  roofs,  ceiled  about 
the  year  1633  ;  before  which  they  were  open  to  the  tiles  and 
shingles,  showing  the  naked  rafters,  and  threatening  the  con- 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  249 

gregation  with  the  fall  of  a  spar,  or  a  blow  from  a  piece  of  loose 
mortar. 

On  the  north  wall  of  the  chancel  is  fixed  a  large  oval  white 
marble  monument,  with  the  following  inscription ;  and  at  the 
foot  of  the  wall,  over  the  deceased,  and  inscribed  with  his 
name,  age,  arms,  and  time  of  death,  lies  a  large  slab  of  black 
marble :  — 

Prope  hunc  parietem  sepelitur 

GILBERTUS   WHITE,   SAMSONIS   WHITE,  de 

Oxon,  militis  filius  tertius,  Collegii  Magdale- 
-nensis  ibidem  alumnus,  &  socius.     Tandem  faven- 
-te  collegio  ad  hanc  ecclesiam  promotus  ;  ubi  prim^e- 
-va  morum  simplicitate,  et  diffusa  erga  omnes  bene- 
-volentia  feliciter  consenuit. 
Pastor  fidelis,  comis,  affabilis, 
Maritus,  et  pater  amantissimus, 
A  conjuge  invicem,  et  liberis,  atque 
A  parochianis  impensd  dilectus. 
Pauperibus  ita  beneficus 
ut  decimam  partem  census 

moribundus 
piis  usibus  consecravit. 
Meritis  demum  juxta  et  annis  plenus 
ex  hac  vita  migravit  Feb.  13^ 
anno  salutis  172I 
^tatis  suae  "jf 
Hoc  posuit  Rebecca 
Conjux  illius  mtestissiraa, 
mox  secutura. 

On  the  same  wall  is  newly  fixed  a  small  square  table  monu- 
ment of  white  marble,  inscribed  in  the  following  manner :  — 

Sacred  to  the  memory 

of  the  Revd.  ANDREW  ETTY,  B.D. 

23  Years  Vicar  of  this  parish  : 

In  whose  character 

The  conjugal,  the  parental,  and  the  sacerdotal  virtues 

were  so  happily  combined 

as  to  deserve  the  imitation  of  mankind. 

And  if  in  any  particular  he  followed  more  invariably 

the  steps  of  his  blessed  Master, 

It  was  in  his  humility. 


250  WHITE 

His  parishioners, 

especially  the  sick  and  necessitous, 

as  long  as  any  traces  of  his  memory  shall  remain, 

must  lament  his  death. 

To  perpetuate  such  an  example,  this  stone  is  erected ; 

as  while  living  he  was  a  preacher  of  righteousness, 

so,  by  it,  he  being  dead  yet  speaketh. 

He  died  April  8'**,  1784,  aged  66  years. 

Note 

1  In  the  same  manner,  to  compare  great  things  with  small,  did  Wykeham, 
when  he  new  built  the  cathedral  at  Winchester,  from  the  tower  westward 
apply  to  his  purpose  the  old  piers  or  pillars  of  Bishop  Walkelin's  church, 
by  blending  Saxon  and  Gothic  architecture  together.  See  Lowth's  Life 
of  Wykeham.  —  G.W. 

2  See  DuGDALE,  Monasttcon  AngUcanum,  Vol.  II.,  where  there  is  a  fine 
engraving  of  a  Knight  Templar,  by  Hollar. —  G.  W. 


LETTER   IV 

We  have  now  taken  leave  of  the  inside  of  the  church,  and 
shall  pass  by  a  door  at  the  west  end  of  the  middle  aisle  into 
the  belfry.  This  room  is  part  of  a  handsome  square  embat- 
tled tower  of  forty-five  feet  in  height,  and  of  much  more  mod- 
ern date  than  the  church ;  but  old  enough  to  have  needed  a 
thorough  repair  in  1781,  when  it  was  neatly  stuccoed  at  a  con- 
siderable expense,  by  a  set  of  workmen  who  were  employed  on 
it  for  the  greatest  part  of  the  summer.  The  old  bells,  three 
in  number,  loud  and  out  of  tune,  were  taken  down  in  1735, 
and  cast  into  four ;  to  which  Sir  Simon  Stuart,  the  grand- 
father of  the  present  baronet,  added  a  fifth  at  his  own  ex- 
pense ;  and,  bestowing  it  in  the  name  of  his  favorite  daughter, 
Mrs.  Mary  Stuart,  caused  it  to  be  cast  with  the  following  motto 

round  it :       «  ciara  puella  dedit,  dixitque  mihi  esto  Maria : 
lUius  et  laudes  nomen  ad  astra  sono." 

The  day  of  the  arrival  of  this  tunable  peal  was  observed  as 
a  high  festival  by  the  village,  and  rendered  more  joyous  by  an 
order  from  the  donor  that  the  treble  bell  should  be  fixed  bottom 
upward  in  the  ground  and  filled  with  punch,  of  which  all  present 
were  permitted  to  partake. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  251 

The  porch  of  the  church,  to  the  south,  is  modern,  and  would 
not  be  worthy  attention  did  it  not  shelter  a  fine  sharp  Gothic 
doorway.  This  is  undoubtedly  much  older  than  the  present 
fabric  ;  and,  being  found  in  good  preservation,  was  worked  into 
the  wall,  and  is  the  grand  entrance  into  the  church  ;  nor  are  the 
folding  doors  to  be  passed  over  in  silence ;  since,  from  their 
thick  and  clumsy  structure,  and  the  rude  flourished  work  of 
their  hinges,  they  may  possibly  be  as  ancient  as  the  doorway 
itself. 

The  whole  roof  of  the  south  aisle,  and  the  south  side  of  the 
roof  of  the  middle  aisle,  is  covered  with  oaken  shingles  instead 
of  tiles,  on  account  of  their  lightness,  which  favors  the  ancient 
and  crazy  timber-frame.  And,  indeed,  the  consideration  of 
accidents  by  fire  excepted,  this  sort  of  roofing  is  much  more 
eligible  than  tiles.  For  shingles  well-seasoned,  and  cleft  from 
quartered  timber,  never  warp,  nor  let  in  drifting  snow  ;  nor  do 
they  shiver  with  frost ;  nor  are  they  liable  to  be  blown  off,  like 
tiles ;  but,  when  nailed  down,  last  for  a  long  period,  as  experi- 
ence has  shown  us  in  this  place,  where  those  that  face  to  the 
north  are  known  to  have  endured,  untouched,  by  undoubted 
tradition,  for  more  than  a  century. 

Considering  the  size  of  the  church,  and  the  extent  of  the 
parish,  the  church-yard  is  very  scanty ;  and  especially  as  all 
wish  to  be  buried  on  the  south  side,  which  is  become  such  a 
mass  of  mortality  that  no  person  can  be  there  interred  without 
disturbing  or  displacing  the  bones  of  his  ancestors.  There 
is  reason  to  suppose  that  it  once  was  larger,  and  extended  to 
what  is  now  the  vicarage  court  and  garden ;  because  many 
human  bones  have  been  dug  up  in  those  parts  several  yards 
without  the  present  limits.  At  the  east  end  are  a  few  graves  ; 
yet  none  till  very  lately  on  the  north  side  ;  but,  as  two  or  three 
families  of  best  repute  have  begun  to  bury  in  that  quarter,  prej- 
udice may  wear  out  by  degrees,  and  their  example  be  followed 
by  the  rest  of  the  neighborhood. 

In  speaking  of  the  church,  I  have  all  along  talked  of  the 
east  and  west  ends,  as  if  the  chancel  stood  exactly  true  to  those 
points  of  the  compass ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  the  case,  for 
the  fabric  bears  so  much  to  the  north  of  the  east  that  the  four 
corners  of  the  tower,  and  not  the  four  sides,  stand  to  the  four 


252  WHITE 

cardinal  points.  The  best  method  of  accounting  for  this 
deviation  seems  to  be  that  the  workmen,  who  probably  were 
employed  in  the  longest  days,  endeavored  to  set  the  chancels 
to  the  rising  of  the  sun. 

Close  by  the  church,  at  the  west  end,  stands  the  vicarage- 
house  ;  an  old,  but  roomy  and  convenient,  edifice.  It  faces 
very  agreeably  to  the  morning  sun,  and  is  divided  from  the 
village  by  a  neat  and  cheerful  court.  According  to  the  man- 
ner of  old  times,  the  hall  was  open  to  the  roof  ;  and  so  con- 
tinued, probably,  till  the  vicars  became  family  men,  and  began 
to  want  more  conveniences ;  when  they  flung  a  floor  across, 
and,  by  partitions,  divided  the  space  into  chambers.  In  this 
hall  we  remember  a  date,  some  time  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth ; 
it  was  over  the  door  that  leads  to  the  stairs. 

Behind  the  house  is  a  garden  of  an  irregular  shape,  but  well 
laid  out ;  whose  terrace  commands  so  romantic  and  picturesque 
a  prospect,  that  the  first  master  in  landscape  might  contemplate 
it  with  pleasure,  and  deem  it  an  object  well  worthy  of  his  pencil. 


LETTER   V 

In  the  church-yard  of  this  village  is  a  yew-tree,  whose  aspect 
bespeaks  it  to  be  of  a  great  age  :  it  seems  to  have  seen  several 
centuries,  and  is  probably  coeval  with  the  church,  and  therefore 
may  be  deemed  an  antiquity :  the  body  is  squat,  short,  and 
thick,  and  measures  twenty-three  feet  in  the  girth,  supporting 
a  head  of  suitable  extent  to  its  bulk.  This  is  a  male  tree,  which 
in  the  spring  sheds  clouds  of  dust,  and  fills  the  atmosphere 
around  with  its  farina. 

As  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  observe,  the  males  of  this 
species  become  much  larger  than  the  females ;  and  it  has  so 
fallen  out  that  most  of  the  yew-trees  in  the  church-yards  of  this 
neighborhood  are  males :  but  this  must  have  been  matter  of 
mere  accident,  since  men,  when  they  first  planted  yews,  little 
dreamed  that  there  were  sexes  in  trees. 

In  a  yard,  in  the  midst  of  the  street,  till  very  lately,  grew  a 
middle-sized  female  tree  of  the  same  species,  which  commonly 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  253 

bore  great  crops  of  berries.  By  the  high  winds  usually  pre- 
vailing about  the  autumnal  equinox,  these  berries,  then  ripe, 
were  blown  down  into  the  road,  where  the  hogs  ate  them.  And 
it  was  very  remarkable  that,  though  barrow-hogs  and  young 
sows  found  no  inconvenience  from  this  food,  yet  milch-sows 
often  died  after  such  a  repast :  a  circumstance  that  can  be 
accounted  for  only  by  supposing  that  the  latter,  being  much 
exhausted  and  hungry,  devoured  a  larger  quantity. 

While  mention  is  making  of  the  bad  effects  of  yew-berries, 
it  may  be  proper  to  remind  the  unwary  that  the  twigs  and 
leaves  of  yew,  though  eaten  in  a  very  small  quantity,  are  cer- 
tain death  to  horses  and  cows,  and  that  in  a  few  minutes.  A 
horse  tied  to  a  yew-hedge,  or  to  a  faggot-stack  of  dead  yew, 
shall  be  found  dead  before  the  owner  can  be  aware  that  any 
danger  is  at  hand ;  and  the  writer  has  been  several  times  a 
sorrowful  witness  to  losses  of  this  kind  among  his  friends ; 
and  in  the  island  of  Ely  had  once  the  mortification  to  see  nine 
young  steers  or  bullocks  of  his  own  all  lying  dead  in  a  heap 
from  browsing  a  little  on  a  hedge  of  yew  in  an  old  garden,  into 
which  they  had  broken  in  snowy  weather.  Even  the  clippings 
of  a  yew-hedge  have  destroyed  a  whole  dairy  of  cows,  when 
thrown  inadvertently  into  a  yard.  And  yet  sheep  and  tur- 
keys and,  as  park-keepers  say,  deer  will  crop  these  trees  with 
impunity. 

Some  intelligent  persons  assert  that  the  branches  of  yew, 
while  green,  are  not  noxious ;  and  that  they  will  kill  only  when 
dead  and  withered,  by  lacerating  the  stomach ;  but  to  this 
assertion  we  cannot  by  any  means  assent,  because,  among  the 
number  of  cattle  that  we  have  known  fall  victims  to  this  deadly 
food,  not  one  has  been  found,  when  it  was  opened,  but  had  a 
lump  of  green  yew  in  its  paunch.  True  it  is,  that  yew-trees 
stand  for  twenty  years  or  more  in  a  field,  and  no  bad  conse- 
quences ensue ;  but  at  some  time  or  other  cattle,  either  from 
wantonness  when  full,  or  from  hunger  when  empty  (from  both 
which  circumstances  we  have  seen  them  perish),  will  be  med- 
dling, to  their  certain  destruction  ;  the  yew  seems  to  be  a  very 
improper  tree  for  a  pasture-field. 

Antiquaries  seem  much  at  a  loss  to  determine  at  what  period 
this  tree  first  obtained  a  place  in  church-yards.    A  statute  passed 


254  WHITE 

A.D.  1307  and  35  Edward  I.,  the  title  of  which  is  "  Ne  rector 
arbores  in  cemeterio  prosternat."  Now  if  it  is  recollected  that 
we  seldom  see  any  other  very  large  or  ancient  tree  in  a  church- 
yard but  yews,  this  statute  must  have  principally  related  to  this 
species  of  tree ;  and  consequently  their  being  planted  in  church- 
yards is  of  much  more  ancient  date  than  the  year  1307. 

As  to  the  use  of  these  trees,  possibly  the  more  respect- 
able parishioners  were  buried  under  their  shade  before  the 
improper  custom  was  introduced  of  burying  within  the  body 
of  the  church,  where  the  living  are  to  assemble.  Deborah, 
Rebekah's  nurse,^  was  buried  under  an  oak  ;  the  most  honor- 
able place  of  interment  probably  next  to  the  cave  of  Mach- 
pelah,2  which  seems  to  have  been  appropriated  to  the  remains 
of  the  patriarchal  family  alone. 

The  farther  use  of  yew-trees  might  be  as  a  screen  to  churches, 
by  their  thick  foliage,  from  the  violence  of  winds ;  perhaps  also 
for  the  purpose  of  archery,  the  best  long-bows  being  made  of 
that  material ;  and  we  do  not  hear  that  they  are  planted  in  the 
church-yards  of  other  parts  of  Europe,  where  long-bows  were 
not  so  much  in  use.  They  might  also  be  placed  as  a  shelter 
to  the  congregation  assembling  before  the  church  doors  were 
opened,  and  as  an  emblem  of  mortality  by  their  funereal  appear- 
ance. In  the  south  of  England  every  church-yard  almost  has 
its  tree,  and  some  two ;  but  in  the  north,  we  understand,  few 
are  to  be  found. 

The  idea  of  R.  C,  that  the  yew-tree  afforded  its  branches 
instead  of  palms  for  the  processions  on  Palm  Sunday,  is  a  good 
one  and  deserves  attention.    See  "Gent.  Mag.,"  Vol.  L.,  p.  128. 

Notes 
1  Gen.  XXXV.  8.  —  G.  W.  2  Cen.  xxiii.  9.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   VI 

The  living  of  Selborne  was  a  very  small  vicarage ;  but, 
being  in  the  patronage  of  Magdalen  College,  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  that  society  endowed  it  with  the  great  tithes 
of  Selborne,  more  than  a  century  ago;  and  since  the  year 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  255 

1758  again  with  the  great  tithes  of  Oakhanger,  called  Bane's 
parsonage ;  so  that,  together,  it  is  become  a  respectable  piece 
of  preferment,  to  which  one  of  the  fellows  is  always  pre- 
sented. The  vicar  holds  the  great  tithes,  by  lease,  under  the 
college.  The  great  disadvantage  of  this  living  is  that  it  has 
not  one  foot  of  glebe  near  home.^ 

ITS  PAYMENTS  ARE:—  £      S.      d. 

King's  books 821 

Yearly  tenths 0162^- 

Yearly  procurations  for  Blackmore  and  Oakhanger 

Chap,  with  acquit 017 

Selborne  procurations  and  acquit 090 

I  am  unable  to  give  a  complete  list  of  the  vicars  of  this 
parish  till  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  ; 
from  which  period  the  registers  furnish  a  regular  series. 

In  Domesday  we  find  thus  —  "  De  isto  manerio  dono  dedit 
Rex  Radfredo  presbytero  dimidiam  hidam  cum  ecclesia."  So 
that  before  Domesday,  which  was  compiled  between  the  years 
1 08 1  and  1086,  here  was  an  officiating  minister  at  this  place. 

After  this,  among  my  documents,  I  find  occasional  mention 
of  a  vicar  here  and  there ;  the  first  is  — 

Roger,  instituted  in  1254. 

In  14 10  John  Lynne  was  vicar  of  Selborne. 

In  141 1  Hugo  Tybbe  was  vicar. 

The  presentations  to  the  vicarage  of  Selborne  generally 
ran  in  the  name  of  the  prior  and  the  convent ;  but  Tybbe 
was  presented  by  Prior  John  Wynechestre  only. 

June  29th,  1528,  William  Fisher,  vicar  of  Selborne,  resigned 
to  Miles  Peyrson. 

1594,  William  White  appears  to  have  been  vicar  to  this 
time.  Of  this  person  there  is  nothing  remarkable,  but  that 
he  hath  made  a  regular  entry  twice  in  the  register  of  Sel- 
borne of  the  funeral  of  Thomas  Cowper,  Bishop  of  Winches- 
ter, as  if  he  had  been  buried  at  Selborne ;  yet  this  learned 
prelate,  who  died  1594,  was  buried  at  Winchester,  in  the  cathe- 
dral, near  the  episcopal  throne.^ 

1595,  Richard  Boughton,  vicar. 

1596,  William  Inkforbye,  vicar. 
May  1606,  Thomas  Phippes,  vicar. 


256  WHITE 

June  163 1,  Ralph  Austine,  vicar. 

July  1632,  John  Longworth.  This  unfortunate  gentleman, 
living  in  the  time  of  Cromwell's  usurpation,  was  deprived  of 
his  preferment  for  many  years,  probably  because  he  would 
not  take  the  league  and  covenant;  for  I  observe  that  his 
father-in-law,  the  Reverend  Jethro  Beal,  rector  of  Faringdon, 
which  is  the  next  parish,  enjoyed  his  benefice  during  the 
whole  of  that  unhappy  period.  Longworth,  after  he  was  dis- 
possessed, retired  to  a  little  tenement  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  from  the  church,  where  he  earned  a  small  pittance 
by  the  practice  of  physic.  During  those  dismal  times  it  was 
not  uncommon  for  the  deposed  clergy  to  take  up  a  medical 
character;  as  was  the  case  in  particular,  I  know,  with  the  Rev- 
erend Mr.  Yalden,  rector  of  Compton,  near  Guildford,  in  the 
county  of  Surrey.  Vicar  Longworth  used  frequently  to  men- 
tion to  his  sons,  who  told  it  to  my  relations,  that,  the  Sunday 
after  his  deprivation,  his  puritanical  successor  stepped  into  the 
pulpit  with  no  small  petulance  and  exultation :  and  began  his 
sermon  from  Psalm  xx.  8,  ''They  are  brought  down  and  fallen ; 
but  we  are  risen  and  stand  upright."  This  person  lived  to  be 
restored  in  1660,  and  continued  vicar  for  eighteen  years;  but 
was  so  impoverished  by  his  misfortunes,  that  he  left  the  vicar- 
age-house and  premises  in  a  very  abject  and  dilapidated  state. 

July  1678.  Richard  Byfield,  who  left  eighty  pounds  by 
will,  the  interest  to  be  applied  to  apprentice  out  poor  chil- 
dren ;  but  this  money,  lent  on  private  security,  was  in  danger 
of  being  lost,  and  the  bequest  remained  in  an  unsettled  state 
for  near  twenty  years,  till  1 700 ;  so  that  little  or  no  advantage 
was  derived  from  it.  About  the  year  1759  it  was  again  in  the 
utmost  danger  by  the  failure  of  a  borrower ;  but,  by  prudent 
management,  has  since  been  raised  to  one  hundred  pounds 
stock  in  the  three  per  cents  reduced.  The  trustees  are  the 
vicar  and  the  renters  or  owners  of  Temple,  Priory,  Grange, 
Blackmore,  and  Oakhanger  House,  for  the  time  being.  This 
gentleman  seemed  inclined  to  have  put  the  vicarial  premises 
in  a  comfortable  state ;  and  began  by  building  a  solid  stone 
wall  round  the  front  court,  and  another  in  the  lower  yard, 
between  that  and  the  neighboring  garden ;  but  was  inter- 
rupted by  death  from  fulfilling  his  laudable  intentions. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  257 

April  1680,  Barnabas  Long  became  vicar. 

June  1 68 1.  This  living  was  now  in  such  low  estimation  in 
Magdalen  College  that  it  descended  to  a  junior  fellow,  Gilbert 
White,  M.A.,  who  was  instituted  to  it  in  the  thirty-first  year 
of  his  age.  At  his  first  coming  he  ceiled  the  chancel,  and  also 
floored  and  wainscoted  the  parlor  and  hall,  which  before  were 
paved  with  stone,  and  had  naked  walls  ;  he  enlarged  the  kitchen 
and  brewhouse,  and  dug  a  cellar  and  well ;  he  also  built  a  large 
new  barn  in  the  lower  yard,  removed  the  hovels  in  the  front 
court,  which  he  laid  out  in  walks  and  borders ;  and  entirely 
planned  the  back  garden,  before  a  rude  field  with  a  stone-pit 
in  the  midst  of  it.  By  his  will  he  gave  and  bequeathed  "  the 
sum  of  forty  pounds  to  be  laid  out  in  the  most  necessary 
repairs  of  the  church ;  that  is,  in  strengthening  and  securing 
such  parts  as  seem  decaying  and  dangerous."  With  this  sum 
two  large  buttresses  were  erected  to  support  the  east  end  of 
the  south  wall  of  the  church,  and  the  gable-end  wall  of  the 
west  end  of  the  south  aisle  was  new  built  from  the  ground. 

By  his  will  also  he  gave  "  one  hundred  pounds  to  be  laid 
out  on  lands ;  the  yearly  rents  whereof  shall  be  employed  in 
teaching  the  poor  children  of  Selbourn  parish  to  read  and 
write,  and  say  their  prayers  and  catechism,  and  to  sew  and 
knit ;  —  and  be  under  the  direction  of  his  executrix  as  long  as 
she  lives ;  and,  after  her,  under  the  direction  of  such  of  his 
children  and  their  issue,  as  shall  live  in  or  within  five  miles  of 
the  said  parish ;  and  on  failure  of  any  such,  then  under  the 
direction  of  the  vicar  of  Selbourn  for  the  time  being ;  but  still 
to  the  uses  above-named."  With  this  sum  was  purchased,  of 
Thomas  Turville,  of  Hawkeley,  in  the  county  of  Southampton, 
yeoman,  and  Hannah  his  wife,  two  closes  of  freehold  land, 
commonly  called  Collier's,  containing,  by  estimation,  eleven 
acres,  lying  in  Hawkeley  aforesaid.  These  closes  are  let  at 
this  time,  1785,  on  lease,  at  the  rate  of  three  pounds  by  the 
year. 

This  vicar  also  gave  by  will  two  hundred  pounds  towards 
the  repairs  of  the  highways  ^  in  the  parish  of  Selborne.  That 
sum  was  carefully  and  judiciously  laid  out  in  the  summer  of 
the  year  1730,  by  his  son  John  White,  who  made  a  solid  and 
firm  causeway  from  Rood  Green,  all  down  Honey  Lane,  to  a 

iS 


258  WHITE 

farm  called  Oak  Woods,  where  the  sandy  soil  begins.  This 
miry  and  gulfy  lane  was  chosen  as  worthy  of  repair,  because 
it  leads  to  the  forest,  and  thence  through  the  Holt  to  the  town 
of  Farnham  in  Surrey,  the  only  market  in  those  days  for  men 
who  had  wheat  to  sell  in  this  neighborhood.  This  causeway 
was  so  deeply  bedded  with  stone,  so  properly  raised  above  the 
level  of  the  soil,  and  so  well  drained,  that  it  has,  in  some  de- 
gree, withstood  fifty-four  years  of  neglect  and  abuse ;  and 
might,  with  moderate  attention,  be  rendered  a  solid  and  com- 
fortable road.  The  space  from  Rood  Green  to  Oak  Woods 
measures  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile. 

In  1727  William  Henry  Cane,  B.D.,  became  vicar,  and, 
among  several  alterations  and  repairs,  new  built  the  back  front 
of  the  vicarage-house. 

On  February  ist,  1740,  Buncombe  Bristowe,  D.D.,  was  insti- 
tuted to  this  living.  What  benefactions  this  vicar  bestowed  on 
the  parish  will  be  best  explained  by  the  following  passages 
from  his  will:  —  "Item,  I  hereby  give  and  bequeath  to  the 
minister  and  church-wardens  of  the  parish  of  Selbourn,  in  the 
county  of  Southampton,  a  mahogany  table,  which  I  have  or- 
dered to  be  made  for  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion  ; 
and  also  the  sum  of  thirty  pounds,  in  trust,  to  be  applied  in 
manner  following ;  that  is,  ten  pounds  towards  the  charge  of 
erecting  a  gallery  at  the  west  end  of  the  church ;  and  ten 
pounds  to  be  laid  out  for  cloathing,  and  such  like  necessaries, 
among  the  poor  (and  especially  among  the  ancient  and  infirm) 
of  the  said  parish :  and  the  remaining  ten  pounds  to  be  dis- 
tributed in  bread,  at  twenty  shillings  a  week,  at  the  discretion 
of  John  White,  Esq.,  or  any  of  his  family,  who  shall  be  resi- 
dent in  the  said  parish." 

On  November  12th,  1758,  Andrew  Etty,  B.D.,  became  vicar. 
Among  many  useful  repairs  he  new  roofed  the  body  of  the 
vicarage-house  ;  and  wainscoted,  up  to  the  bottom  of  the  win- 
dows, the  whole  of  the  chancel ;  to  the  neatness  and  decency 
of  which  he  always  paid  the  most  exact  attention. 

On  September  25th,  1784,  Christopher  Taylor,  B.D.,  was 
inducted  into  the  vicarage  of  Selborne. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  259 


Notes 

^  At  Bene's  or  Bin's  parsonage  there  is  a  house  and  stout  barn,  and  seven 
acres  of  glebe;   Bene's  parsonage  is  three  miles  from  the  church.  —  G.  W. 

2  See  "Godwin  de  Praesulibus,"  Folio  Cant.  1743,  p.  239.  —  G.  W. 

3  "  Such  legacies  were  very  common  in  former  times,  before  any  effectual 
laws  were  made  for  the  repairs  of  highways."  Sir  John  Culliwi's  Hawsted, 
p.  15.  — G.  W. 


LETTER   VII 

I  SHALL  now  proceed  to  the  Priory,  which  is  undoubtedly  the 
most  interesting  part  of  our  history. 

The  Priory  of  Selborne  was  founded  by  Peter  de  la  Roche, 
or  de  Rupibus,^  one  of  those  accomplished  foreigners  that 
resorted  to  the  court  of  King  John,  where  they  were  usually 
caressed,  and  met  with  a  more  favorable  reception  than  ought, 
in  prudence,  to  have  been  shown  by  any  monarch  to  strangers. 
This  adventurer  was  a  Poictevin  by  birth,  had  been  bred  to 
arms  in  his  youth,  and  distinguished  by  knighthood.  His- 
torians all  agree  not  to  speak  very  favorably  of  this  remark- 
able man ;  they  allow  that  he  was  possessed  of  courage  and 
fine  abilities,  but  then  they  charge  him  with  arbitrary  princi- 
ples, and  violent  conduct.  By  his  insinuating  manners  he  soon 
rose  high  in  the  favor  of  John  ;  and  in  1205,  early  in  the  reign 
of  that  prince,  was  appointed  bishop  of  Winchester.  In  12 14, 
he  became  lord  chief  justiciary  of  England,  the  first  magistrate 
of  the  state,  and  a  kind  of  viceroy,  on  whom  depended  all  the 
civil  affairs  in  the  kingdom.  After  the  death  of  John,  and  dur- 
ing the  minority  of  his  son  Henry,  this  prelate  took  upon  him 
the  entire  management  of  the  realm,  and  was  soon  appointed 
protector  of  the  king  and  kingdom. 

The  barons  saw  with  indignation  a  stranger  possessed  of  all 
the  power  and  influence,  to  part  of  which  they  thought  they 
had  a  claim  ;  they  therefore  entered  into  an  association  against 
him,  and  determined  to  wrest  some  of  that  authority  from  him, 
which  he  had  so  unreasonably  usurped.  The  bishop  discerned 
the  storm  at  a  distance  ;  and,  prudently  resolving  to  give  way 
to  that  torrent  of  envy  which  he  knew  not  how  to  withstand. 


26o  WHITE 

withdrew  quietly  to  the  Holy  Land,  where  he  resided  some 
time. 

At  this  juncture  a  very  small  part  of  Palestine  remained  in 
the  hands  of  the  Christians ;  they  had  been  by  Saladin  dis- 
possessed of  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  internal  parts,  near  forty 
years  before  ;  and  with  difficulty  maintained  some  maritime 
towns  and  garrisons ;  yet  the  busy  and  enterprising  spirit  of 
De  Rupibus  could  not  be  at  rest ;  he  distinguished  himself  by 
the  splendor  and  magnificence  of  his  expenses,  and  amused 
his  mind  by  strengthening  fortresses  and  castles,  and  by  re- 
moving and  endowing  of  churches.  Before  his  expedition  to 
the  East  he  had  signalized  himself  as  the  founder  of  convents, 
and  as  a  benefactor  to  hospitals  and  monasteries. 

In  the  year  1231  he  returned  again  to  England;  and  the 
very  next  year,  in  1232,  began  to  build  and  endow  the  Priory 
of  Selborne.  As  this  great  work  followed  so  close  upon  his 
return,  it  is  not  improbable  that  it  was  the  result  of  a  vow  made 
during  his  voyage,  and  especially  as  it  was  dedicated  to  the 
Virgin  Mary.  Why  the  bishop  made  choice  of  Selborne  for 
the  scene  of  his  munificence  can  never  be  determined  now ; 
it  can  only  be  said  that  the  parish  was  in  his  diocese,  and  lay 
almost  midway  between  Winchester  and  Farnham,  or  South 
Waltham  and  Farnham  ;  from  either  of  which  places  he  could 
without  much  trouble  overlook  his  workmen,  and  observe  what 
progress  they  made ;  and  that  the  situation  was  retired,  with 
a  stream  running  by  it,  and  sequestered  from  the  world,  amidst 
woods  and  meadows,  and  so  far  proper  for  the  site  of  a  relig- 
ious house.2 

The  first  person  with  whom  the  founder  treated  about  the 
purchase  of  land  was  Jacobus  de  Achangre,  or  Ochangre,  a 
gentleman  of  property  who  resided  in  that  hamlet,  and,  as 
appears,  at  the  house  now  called  Oakhanger  House.  With 
him  he  agreed  for  a  croft,  or  little  close  of  land,  known  by  the 
name  of  La  liega,  or  La  lyge,  which  was  to  be  the  immediate 
site  of  the  Priory. 

De  Achangre  also  accommodated  the  bishop  at  the  same 
instant  with  three  more  adjoining  crofts,  which  for  a  time  was 
all  the  footing  that  this  institution  obtained  in  the  parish.  The 
seller  in  the  conveyance  says,  "  Warantizabimus,  defendemus, 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  261 

et  aequietabimus  contra  oinnes  gentes  ;  "  viz.,  "  We  will  warrant 
the  thing  sold  against  all  claims  from  any  quarter."  In 
modern  conveyancing  this  would  be  termed  a  covenant  for 
further  assurance.  Afterwards  is  added  —  "  Pro  hac  autem 
donacione,  etc.,  dedit  mihi  pred.  Episcopus  sexdecem  marcas 
argenti  in  Gersuniam^'  i.e.  "  The  bishop  gave  me  sixteen  sil- 
ver marks  as  a  consideration  for  the  thing  purchased." 

As  the  grant  from  Jac.  de  Achangre  was  without  date,^  and 
the  next  is  circumstanced  in  the  same  manner,  we  cannot  say 
exactly  what  interval  there  was  between  the  two  purchases ; 
but  we  find  that  Jacobus  de  Nortun,  a  neighboring  gentleman, 
also  soon  sold  to  the  bishop  of  Winchester  some  adjoining 
grounds,  through  which  our  stream  passes,  that  the  Priory 
might  be  accommodated  with  a  mill,  which  was  a  common 
necessary  appendage  to  every  manor ;  he  also  allowed  access 
to  these  lands  by  a  road  for  carts  and  wagons.  —  "Jacobus 
de  Nortun  concedit  Petro  Winton  episcopo  totum  cursum  aque 
que  descendit  de  Molendino  de  Durton  usq  ;  ad  boscum  Will. 
Mauduit,  et  croftam  terre  vocat :  Edriche  croft,  cum  extensione 
ejusdem  et  abuttamentis ;  ad  fundandam  domum  religiosam 
de  ordine  Sti.  Augustini.  Concedit  etiam  viam  ad  carros,  et 
caretas,"  etc.  This  vale,  down  which  runs  the  brook,  is  now 
called  the  Long  Lith,  or  Lyth.  Bating  the  following  par- 
ticular expression,  this  grant  runs  much  in  the  style  of  the 
former :  "  Dedit  mihi  episcopus  predictus  triginta  quinque 
marcas  argenti  ad  me  acqiiietandum  versus  JndcBos  ;  "  that  is, 
"  The  bishop  advanced  me  thirty-five  marks  of  silver  to  pay 
my  debts  to  the  Jews,"  who  were  then  the  only  lenders  of 
money. 

Finding  himself  still  straitened  for  room,  the  founder  ap- 
plied to  his  royal  master,  Henry,  who  was  graciously  pleased  to 
bestow  certain  lands  in  the  manor  of  Selborne  on  the  new  Priory 
of  his  favorite  minister.  These  grounds  had  been  the  property 
of  Stephen  de  Lucy  ;  and,  abutting  upon  the  narrow  limits  of 
the  convent,  became  a  very  commodious  and  agreeable  acqui- 
sition. This  grant,  I  find,  was  made  on  March  9th,  in  the 
eighteenth  year  of  Henry,  viz.,  1234,  being  two  years  after 
the  foundation  of  the  monastery.  The  royal  donor  bestowed 
his  favor  with  good  grace,  by  adding  to  it  almost  every  immu- 


262  WHITE 

nity  and  privilege  that  could  have  been  specified  in  the  law- 
language  of  the  times.  —  "  Quare  volumus  prior,  etc.,  habeant 
totam  terram,  etc.,  cum  omnibus  libertatibus  in  bosco  et  piano, 
in  viis  et  semitis,  pratis  et  pascuis ;  aquis  et  piscariis  ;  infra 
burgum,  et  extra  burgum,  cum  soka  et  saca,  Thol  et  Them, 
Infangenethef  et  Utfangenethef,  et  hamsocne  et  blodwite,  et 
pecunia  que  dari  solet  pro  murdro  et  forstal,  et  flemenestrick, 
et  cum  quietancia  de  omni  scotto  et  geldo,  et  de  omnibus 
auxiliis  regum,  vicecomitum,  et  omn :  ministralium  suorum ;  et 
hidagio  et  exercitibus,  et  scutagiis,  et  tallagiis,  et  shiris  et  hun- 
dredis,  et  placitis  et  querelis,  et  warda  et  wardpeny,  et  opibus 
castellorum  et  pontium,  et  clausuris  parcorum,  et  omni  carcio 
et  sumagio,  et  domor :  regal :  edificatione,  et  omnimoda  repa- 
ratione,  et  cum  omnibus  aliis  libertatibus."  This  grant  was 
made  out  by  Richard  bishop  of  Chichester,  then  chancellor,  at 
the  town  of  Northampton,  before  the  lord  chief  justiciary,  who 
was  the  founder  himself. 

The  charter  of  foundation  of  the  Priory,  dated  1233,  comes 
next  in  order  to  be  considered ;  but  being  of  some  length,  I 
shall  not  interrupt  my  narrative  by  placing  it  here.  This  my 
copy,  taken  from  the  original,  I  have  compared  with  Dugdale's 
copy,  and  find  that  they  perfectly  agree ;  except  that  in  the 
latter  the  preamble  and  the  names  of  the  witnesses  are  omitted. 
Yet  I  think  it  proper  to  quote  a  passage  from  this  charter : 
"  Et  ipsa  domus  religiosa  a  aijuslibet  alterius  domils  religioscB 
subjectione  libera  permaneat,  et  in  omnibus  absoluta,"  to  show 
how  much  Dugdale  was  mistaken  when  he  inserted  Selborne 
among  the  alie)i  priories ;  forgetting  that  this  disposition  of 
the  convent  contradicted  the  grant  that  he  had  published.  In 
the  "  Monasticon  Anglicanum,"  in  English,  p.  1 19,  is  part  of 
his  catalogue  of  alien  priories,  suppressed  2  Henry  V.,  viz., 
1414,  where  may  be  seen  as  follows  :  — 

S. 

Sele,  Sussex, 

SELEBURN. 

S/it'rdttrn. 

This  appeared  to  me  from  the  first  to  have  been  an  over- 
sight, before  I  had  seen  my  authentic  evidences.  For  priories 
alien,  a  few  conventual  ones  excepted,  were  little  better  than 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  263 

granges  to  foreign  abbeys,  and  their  priors  little  more  than  bail- 
iffs removable  at  will;  whereas  the  Priory  of  Selborne  pos- 
sessed the  valuable  estates  and  manors  of  Selborne,  Achangre, 
Norton,  Brompden,  Bassinges,  Basingstoke,  and  Natele ;  and 
the  prior  challenged  the  right  of  pillory,  thurcet,  and  furcas, 
and  every  manorial  privilege. 

I  find  next  a  grant  from  Jo.  de  Venur,  or  Venuz,  to  the  prior 
of  Selborne,  —  "  deto  ta  mora  [a  moor  or  bog]  ubi  Beme 
oritur,  usque  ad  campum  vivarii,  et  de  prato  voc.  Sydenmeade 
cum  abutt :  et  de  cursu  aque  molendini."  And  also  a  grant  in 
reversion  "unius  virgate  terre  "  (a  yard  land),  in  Achangre  at 
the  death  of  Richard  Actedene  his  sister's  husband,  who  had 
no  child.  He  was  to  present  a  pair  of  gloves  of  one  penny 
value  to  the  prior  and  canons,  to  be  given  annually  by  the  said 
Richard ;  and  to  quit  all  claim  to  the  said  lands  in  reversion, 
provided  the  prior  and  canons  would  engage  annually  to  pay 
to  the  king,  through  the  hands  of  his  bailiffs  of  Aulton,  ten 
shillings  at  four  quarterly  payments,  "  pro  omnibus  serviciis, 
consuetudinibus,  exactionibus,  et  demandis." 

This  Jo.  de  Venur  was  a  man  of  property  at  Oakhanger,  and 
lived  probably  at  the  spot  now  called  Chapel  Farm.  The  grant 
bears  date  the  17th  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  HI.  (viz.,  1233). 

It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  every  little  grant  for  lands 
or  tenements  that  might  be  produced  from  my  vouchers.  I 
shall  therefore  pass  over  all  such  for  the  present,  and  conclude 
this  letter  with  a  remark  that  must  strike  every  thinking  per- 
son with  some  degree  of  wonder.  No  sooner  had  a  monastic 
institution  got  a  footing,  but  the  neighborhood  began  to  be 
touched  with  a  secret  and  religious  awe.  Every  person  round 
was  desirous  to  promote  so  good  a  work ;  and  either  by  sale, 
by  grant,  or  by  gift  in  reversion,  was  ambitious  of  appearing 
a  benefactor.  They  who  had  not  lands  to  spare  gave  roads 
to  accommodate  the  infant  foundation.  The  religious  were  not 
backward  in  keeping  up  this  pious  propensity,  which  they  ob- 
served so  readily  influenced  the  breasts  of  men.  Thus  did  the 
more  opulent  monasteries  add  house  to  house,  and  field  to  field, 
and  by  degrees  manor  to  manor,  till  at  last  "  there  was  no  place 
left ;  "  but  every  district  around  became  appropriated  to  the 
purposes  of  their  founders,  and  every  precinct  was  drawn  into 
the  vortex. 


264  WHITE 

Notes 

*  See  "Godwin  de  Prassulibus  Angliae."  Folio.  London,  1743,  p.  217. 
—  G.  W. 

2  The  institution  at  Selborne  was  a  priory  of  black  canons  of  the  order 
of  St.  Augustine,  called  also  canons  regular.  Regular  canons  were  such  as 
lived  in  a  conventual  manner  under  one  roof,  had  a  common  refectory  and 
dormitory,  and  were  bound  by  vows  to  observe  the  rules  and  statutes  of  their 
order :  in  fine,  they  were  a  kind  of  religious,  whose  discipline  was  less  rigid 
than  the  monks.  The  chief  rule  of  these  canons  was  that  of  St.  Augustine, 
who  was  constituted  bishop  of  Hippo,  a.d.  395  ;  but  they  were  not  brought 
into  England  till  after  the  conquest ;  and  seem  not  to  have  obtained  the 
appellation  of  Augustine  canons  till  some  years  after.  Their  habit  was  a 
long  black  cassock,  with  a  white  rochet  over  it ;  and  over  that  a  black  cloak 
and  hood.  The  monks  were  always  shaved  ;  but  these  canons  wore  their 
hair  and  beards,  and  caps  on  their  heads.  There  were  of  these  canons,  and 
women  of  the  same  order  called  Canonesses,  about  175  houses.  —  G.  W. 

3  The  custom  of  affixing  dates  to  deeds  was  not  become  general  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  HI.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   VIII 

Our  forefathers  in  this  village  were  no  doubt  as  busy  and 
bustling,  and  as  important,  as  ourselves  :  yet  have  their  names 
and  transactions  been  forgotten  from  century  to  century,  and 
have  sunk  into  oblivion ;  nor  has  this  happened  only  to  the 
vulgar,  but  even  to  men  remarkable  and  famous  in  their  gen- 
eration. I  was  led  into  this  train  of  thinking  by  linding  in  my 
vouchers  that  Sir  Adam  Gurdon  was  an  inhabitant  of  Selborne, 
and  a  man  of  the  first  rank  and  property  in  the  parish.  By 
Sir  Adam  Gurdon  I  would  be  understood  to  mean  that  leading 
and  accomplished  malcontent  in  the  Mountfort  faction,  who 
distinguished  himself  by  his  daring  conduct  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  III.  The  first  that  we  hear  of  this  person  in  my  papers 
is  that  with  two  others  he  was  bailiff  of  Alton  before  the  six- 
teenth of  Henry  III.,  viz.,  about  123 1,  and  then  not  knighted. 
Who  Gurdon  was,  and  whence  he  came,  does  not  appear  :  yet 
there  is  reason  to  suspect  that  he  was  originally  a  mere  soldier 
of  fortune,  who  had  raised  himself  by  marrying  women  of 
property.  The  name  of  Gurdon  does  not  seem  to  be  known 
in  the  south ;  but  there  is  a  name  so  like  it  in  an  adjoining 
kingdom,  and  which  belongs  to  two  or  three  noble  families, 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  265 

that  it  is  probable  this  remarkable  person  was  a  North  Briton ; 
and  the  more  so,  since  the  Christian  name  of  Adam  is  a  dis- 
tinguished one  to  this  day  among  the  family  of  the  Gordons. 
But,  be  this  as  it  may.  Sir  Adam  Gurdon  has  been  noticed  by 
all  the  writers  of  English  history  for  his  bold  disposition  and 
disaffected  spirit,  in  that  he  not  only  figured  during  the  suc- 
cessful rebellion  of  Leicester  but  kept  up  the  war  after  the  de- 
feat and  death  of  that  baron,  entrenching  himself  in  the  woods 
of  Hampshire,  towards  the  town  of  Farnham.  After  the  battle 
of  Evesham,  in  which  Mountfort  fell,  in  the  year  1265,  Gur- 
don might  not  think  it  safe  to  return  to  his  house  for  fear  of 
a  surprise  ;  but  cautiously  fortified  himself  amidst  the  forests 
and  wood-lands  with  which  he  was  so  well  acquainted.  Prince 
Edward,  desirous  of  putting  an  end  to  the  troubles  which  had 
so  long  harassed  the  kingdom,  pursued  the  arch-rebel  into  his 
fastnesses,  attacked  his  camp,  leaped  over  the  entrenchments, 
and,  singling  out  Gurdon,  ran  him  down,  wounded  him,  and 
took  him  prisoner.^ 

There  is  not  perhaps  in  all  history  a  more  remarkable  in- 
stance of  command  of  temper,  and  magnanimity,  than  this 
before  us :  that  a  young  prince,  in  the  moment  of  victory, 
when  he  had  the  fell  adversary  of  the  crown  and  royal  family 
at  his  mercy,  should  be  able  to  withhold  his  hand  from  that 
vengeance  which  the  vanquished  so  well  deserved.  A  cow- 
ardly disposition  would  have  been  blinded  by  resentment ; 
but  this  gallant  heir  apparent  saw  at  once  a  method  of  con- 
verting a  most  desperate  foe  into  a  lasting  friend.  He  raised 
the  fallen  veteran  from  the  ground,  he  pardoned  him,  he 
admitted  him  into  his  confidence,  and  introduced  him  to  the 
queen,  then  lying  at  Guildford,  that  very  evening.  This  un- 
merited and  unexpected  lenity  melted  the  heart  of  the  rugged 
Gurdon  at  once  ;  he  became  in  an  instant  a  loyal  and  useful 
subject,  trusted  and  employed  in  matters  of  moment  by 
Edward  when  king,  and  confided  in  till  the  day  of  his  death. 

Note 
^  M.  Paris,  p.  675,  and  Triveti  Annale. 


266  WHITE 


LETTER   IX 

It  has  been  hinted  in  a  former  letter  that  Sir  Adam  Gur- 
don  had  availed  himself  by  marrying  women  of  property. 
By  my  evidences  it  appears  that  he  had  three  wives,  and 
probably  in  the  following  order :  Constantia,  Ameria,  and 
Agnes.  The  first  of  these  ladies,  who  was  the  companion  of 
his  middle  life,  seems  to  have  been  a  person  of  considerable 
fortune,  which  she  inherited  from  Thomas  Makerel,  a  gentle- 
man of  Selborne,  who  was  either  her  father  or  uncle.  The 
second,  Ameria,  calls  herself  the  quondam  wife  of  Sir  Adam, 
"  quae  fui  uxor,"  etc.,  and  talks  of  her  sons  under  age.  Now 
Gurdon  had  no  son  :  and  beside,  Agnes,  in  another  document, 
says,  "Ego  Agnes  quondam  uxor  Domini  Adcs  Gurdon  in 
pura  et  ligea  viduitate  mea  :  "  but  Gurdon  could  not  leave 
two  widows ;  and  therefore  it  seems  probable  that  he  had 
been  divorced  from  Ameria,  who  afterwards  married  and  had 
sons.  By  Agnes  Sir  Adam  had  a  daughter  Johanna,  who 
was  his  heiress,  to  whom  Agnes  in  her  lifetime  surrendered 
part  of  her  jointure :  he  had  also  a  bastard  son. 

Sir  Adam  seems  to  have  inhabited  the  house  now  called 
Temple,  lying  about  two  miles  east  of  the  church,  which  had 
been  the  property  of  Thomas  Makerel. 

In  the  year  1262  he  petitioned  the  prior  of  Selborne  in  his 
own  name,  and  that  of  his  wife  Constantia  only,  for  leave  to 
build  him  an  oratory  in  his  manor-house,  "in  curia  sua." 
Licenses  of  this  sort  were  frequently  obtained  by  men  of  fort- 
une and  rank  from  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  the  archbishop, 
and  sometimes,  as  I  have  seen  instances,  from  the  Pope ;  not 
only  for  convenience'  sake,  and  on  account  of  distance,  and 
the  badness  of  the  roads,  but  as  a  matter  of  state  and  dis- 
tinction. Why  the  owner  should  apply  to  the  prior,  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  and  how  the  former  became 
competent  to  such  a  grant,  I  cannot  say ;  but  that  the  priors 
of  Selborne  did  take  that  privilege  is  plain,  because  some  years 
afterwards,  in  1280,  Prior  Richard  granted  to  Henry  Water- 
ford  and  his  wife  Nicholaa,  a  license  to  build  art  oratory  in 
their  court-house,  "  curia  sua  de  Waterford,"  in  which  they 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  26/ 

might  celebrate  divine  service,  saving  the  rights  of  the  mother 
church  of  Basynges.  Yet  all  the  while  the  prior  of  Selborne 
grants  with  such  reserve  and  caution,  as  if  in  doubt  of  his 
power,  and  leaves  Gurdon  and  his  lady  answerable  in  future 
to  the  bishop,  or  his  ordinary,  or  to  the  vicar  for  the  time 
being,  in  case  they  should  infringe  the  rights  of  the  mother 
church  of  Selborne. 

The  manor-house,  called  "  Temple,"  is  at  present  a  single 
building,  running  in  length  from  south  to  north,  and  has  been 
occupied  as  a  common  farmhouse  from  time  immemorial.  The 
south  end  is  modern,  and  consists  of  a  brewhouse,  and  then  a 
kitchen.  The  middle  part  is  a  hall  twenty-seven  feet  in  length 
and  nineteen  feet  in  breadth ;  and  has  been  formerly  open  to 
the  top,  but  there  is  now  a  floor  above  it,  and  also  a  chimney 
in  the  western  wall.  The  roofing  consists  of  strong  massive 
rafter  work  ornamented  with  carved  roses.  I  have  often  looked 
for  the  lamb  and  flag,  the  arms  of  the  Knights  Templars,  with- 
out success  ;  but  in  one  corner  found  a  fox  with  a  goose  on  his 
back,  so  coarsely  executed  that  it  required  some  attention  to 
make  out  the  device. 

Beyond  the  hall  to  the  north  is  a  small  parlor  with  a  vast 
heavy  stone  chimney-piece,  and  at  the  end  of  all  the  chapel  or 
oratory,  whose  massive  thick  walls  and  narrow  windows  at  once 
bespeak  great  antiquity.  This  room  is  only  sixteen  feet  by  six- 
teen feet  eight  inches,  and  full  seventeen  feet  nine  inches  in 
height.  The  ceiling  is  formed  of  vast  joists,  placed  only  five 
or  six  inches  apart.  Modern  delicacy  would  not  much  approve 
of  such  a  place  of  worship ;  for  it  has  at  present  much  more 
the  appearance  of  a  dungeon  than  of  a  room  fit  for  the  recep- 
tion of  people  of  condition.  The  field  on  which  this  oratory 
abuts  is  called  Chapel  Field.  The  situation  of  this  house  is  very 
particular,  for  it  stands  upon  the  immediate  verge  of  a  steep, 
abrupt  hill. 

Not  many  years  since  this  place  was  used  for  a  hop-kiln,  and 
was  divided  into  two  stories  by  a  loft,  part  of  which  remains 
at  present  and  makes  it  convenient  for  peat  and  turf,  with 
which  it  is  stowed. 


268  .  WHITE 


LETTER  X 


The  Priory  at  times  was  much  obliged  to  Gurdon  and  his 
family.  As  Sir  Adam  began  to  advance  in  years  he  found  his 
mind  influenced  by  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the  reasonableness 
and  efficacy  of  prayers  for  the  dead  ;  and  therefore,  in  con- 
junction with  his  wife  Constantia,  in  the  year  1271,  granted  to 
the  prior  and  convent  of  Selborne  all  his  right  and  claim  to  a 
certain  place,  placea,  called  "  La  Playstow,"  in  the  village 
aforesaid,  "  in  liberam,  ptiram,  et  perpetiiavt  elemosmam." 
This  Pleystow,^  locus  liidorum,  or  play-place,  is  a  level  area 
near  the  church  of  about  forty-four  yards  by  thirty-six,  and  is 
known  now  by  the  name  of  the  Plestor.^ 

It  continues  still,  as  it  was  in  old  times,  to  be  the  scene  of 
recreation  for  the  youths  and  children  of  the  neighborhood  ; 
and  impresses  an  idea  on  the  mind  that  this  village,  even  in 
Saxon  times,  could  not  be  the  most  abject  of  places,  when  the 
inhabitants  thought  proper  to  assign  so  spacious  a  spot  for  the 
sports  and  amusements  of  its  young  people.^ 

As  soon  as  the  prior  became  possessed  of  this  piece  of 
ground,  he  procured  a  charter  for  a  market  "*  from  King 
Henry  III.,  and  began  to  erect  houses  and  stalls,  " seldas," 
around  it.  From  this  period  Selborne  became  a  market  town  ; 
but  how  long  it  enjoyed  that  privilege  does  not  appear.  At 
the  same  time,  Gurdon  reserved  to  himself,  and  his  heirs,  a 
way  through  the  said  Plestor  to  a  tenement  and  some  crofts 
at  the  upper  end,  abutting  on  the  south  corner  of  the  church- 
yard. This  was  in  old  days  the  manorial  house  of  the  street 
manor,  though  now  a  poor  cottage,  and  is  known  at  present 
by  the  modern  name  of  Elhot's.  Sir  Adam  also  did,  for  the 
health  of  his  own  soul  and  that  of  his  wife  Constantia,  their 
predecessors  and  successors,  grant  to  the  prior  and  canons 
quiet  possession  of  all  the  tenements  and  gardens,  "  ciirtilla- 
gia"  which  they  had  built  and  laid  out  on  the  lands  in  Sel- 
borne, on  which  he  and  his  vassals,  "homines,''  had  undoubted 
right  of  common ;  and  moreover  did  grant  to  the  convent 
the  full  privilege  of  that  right  of  common,  and  empowered 
the  religious  to  build  tenements  and  make  gardens  along  the 
king's  highway  in  the  village  of  Selborne. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  269 

From  circumstances  put  together,  it  appears  that  the  above 
were  the  first  grants  obtained  by  the  Priory  in  the  village  of 
Selborne  after  it  had  subsisted  about  thirty-nine  years  ;  more- 
over, they  explain  the  nature  of  the  mixed  manor  still  remain- 
ing in  and  about  the  village,  where  one  field  or  tenement  shall 
belong  to  Magdalen  College  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  and 
the  next  to  Norton  Powlet,  Esq.,  of  Rotherfield  House,  and  so 
down  the  whole  street.  The  case  was,  that  the  whole  was 
once  the  property  of  Gurdon,  till  he  made  his  grants  to  the 
convent,  since  which  some  belongs  to  the  successors  of  Gurdon 
in  the  manor,  and  some  to  the  college  ;  and  this  is  the  occasion 
of  the  strange  jumble  of  property.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
tenement  and  crofts  which  Sir  Adam  reserved  at  the  time  of 
granting  the  Plestor  should  still  remain  a  part  of  the  Gurdon 
Manor,  though  so  desirable  an  addition  to  the  vicarage,  that 
is  not  as  yet  possessed  of  one  inch  of  glebe  at  home  ;  but  of 
late,  viz.,  in  January  1785,  Magdalen  College  purchased  that 
little  estate,  which  is  life-holding,  in  reversion,  for  the  gener- 
ous purpose  of  bestowing  it,  and  its  lands,  being  twelve  acres 
(three  of  which  abut  on  the  church-yard  and  vicarage  garden) 
as  an  improvement  hereafter  to  the  living,  and  an  eligible 
advantage  to  future  incumbents. 

The  year  after  Gurdon  had  bestowed  the  Plestor  on  the 
Priory,  viz.,  in  1272,  Henry  HI.,  King  of  England,  died,  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Edward.  This  magnanimous  prince 
continued  his  regard  for  Sir  Adam,  whom  he  esteemed  as  a 
brave  man,  and  made  him  warden,  "  ciistos"  of  the  forest  of 
Wolmer.^  Though  little  emolument  might  hang  to  this  ap- 
pointment, yet  are  there  reasons  why  it  might  be  highly  accept- 
able ;  and,  in  a  few  reigns  after,  it  was  given  to  princes  of  the 
blood. ^  In  old  days  gentry  resided  more  at  home  on  their 
estates,  and,  having  fewer  resources  of  elegant  indoor  amuse- 
ment, spent  most  of  their  leisure  hours  in  the  field  and  the 
pleasures  of  the  chase.  A  large  domain,  therefore,  at  little 
more  than  a  mile  distance,  and  well  stocked  with  game,  must 
have  been  a  very  eligible  acquisition,  affording  him  influence 
as  well  as  entertainment ;  and  especially  as  the  manorial  house 
of  Temple,  by  its  exalted  situation,  could  command  a  view  of 
near  two-thirds  of  the  forest. 


270  WHITE 

That  Gurdon,  who  had  lived  some  years  the  life  of  an  out- 
law and  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  insurgents,  was  for  a  con- 
siderable time  in  high  rebellion  against  his  sovereign,  should 
have  been  guilty  of  some  outrages,  and  should  have  committed 
some  depredations,  is  by  no  means  matter  of  wonder.  Accord- 
ingly we  find  a  distringas  against  him,  ordering  him  to  restore 
to  the  bishop  of  Winchester  some  of  the  temporalities  of  that 
see,  which  he  had  taken  by  violence  and  detained,  viz.,  some 
lands  in  Hocheleye,  and  a  mill.'''  By  a  breve ^  or  writ,  from  the 
king,  he  is  also  enjoined  to  readmit  the  bishop  of  Winchester, 
and  his  tenants  of  the  parish  and  town  of  Farnham,  to  pasture 
their  horses,  and  other  larger  cattle,  ^'  averia,''  in  the  forest  of 
Wolmer,  as  has  been  the  usage  from  time  immemorial.  This 
writ  is  dated  in  the  tenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Edward,  viz., 
1282. 

All  the  king's  writs  directed  to  Gurdon  are  addressed  in  the 
following  manner,  "  Edwardus  Dei  gratia,  etc.,  dilecto  et  fideli 
suo  Ade  Gurdon  salutem ; "  and  again,  "Custodi  foreste  sue 
de  Wolvemere." 

In  the  year  1293  a  quarrel  between  the  crews  of  an  Eng- 
lish and  a  Norman  ship  about  some  trifle  brought  on  by 
degrees  such  serious  consequences,  that  in  1293  a  war  broke 
out  between  the  two  nations.  The  French  king,  Philip  the 
Hardy,  gained  some  advantages  in  Gascony ;  and,  not  con- 
tent with  those,  threatened  England  with  an  invasion,  and  by 
a  sudden  attempt  took  and  burnt  Dover. 

Upon  this  emergency,  Edward  sent  a  writ  to  Gurdon,  order- 
ing him  and  four  others  to  enlist  three  thousand  soldiers  in  the 
counties  of  Surrey,  Dorset,  and  Wiltshire,  able-bodied  men, 
"  tarn  sagittare  quam  balistare  potentes  ;  "  and  to  see  that  they 
were  marched  by  the  feast  of  All  Saints,  to  Winchelsea,  there 
to  be  embarked  aboard  the  king's  transports. 

The  occasion  of  this  armament  appears  also  from  a  sum- 
mons to  the  bishop  of  Winchester  to  Parliament,  part  of  which 
I  shall  transcribe  on  account  of  the  insolent  menace  which  is 
said  therein  to  have  been  denounced  against  the  English  Ian-, 
guage  :  —  "  qualiter  rex  Franciae  de  terra  nostra  Gascon  nos 
fraudulenter  et  cautelose  decepit,  eam  nobis  nequiter  deti- 
nendo  .  .  .  vero  predictis  fraude  et  nequitia  non  contentus, 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  271 

ad  expugnationem  regni  nostri  classe  maxima  et  bellatorum 
copiosa  multitudine  congregatis,  cum  quibus  regniim  nostrum 
et  regni  ejusdem  incolas  hostiliter  jam  invasurus,  lingiiam 
Anglicain  si  concepte  iniquitatis  proposito  detestabili  potestas 
correspondeat,  quod  Deus  avertat  omnino  de  terra  delere  pro- 
ponit"  Dated  30th  September,  in  the  year  of  King  Edward's 
reign  xxiii.^ 

The  above  are  the  last  traces  that  I  can  discover  of  Gurdon's 
appearing  and  acting  in  public.  The  first  notice  that  my  evi- 
dences give  of  him  is  that  in  1232,  being  the  i6th  of  Henry 
III.,  he  was  the  king's  bailiff,  with  others,  for  the  town  of 
Alton.  Now,  from  1232  to  1295  is  a  space  of  sixty-three 
years,  a  long  period  for  one  man  to  be  employed  in  active  life  ! 
Should  any  one  doubt  whether  all  these  particulars  can  relate 
to  one  and  the  same  person,  I  should  wish  him  to  attend  to  the 
following  reasons  why  they  might.  In  the  first  place,  the  docu- 
ments from  the  Priory  mention  but  one  Sir  Adam  Gurdon,  who 
had  no  son  lawfully  begotten  ;  and  in  the  next,  we  are  to  recol- 
lect that  he  must  have  probably  been  a  man  of  uncommon 
vigor,  both  of  mind  and  body,  since  no  one  unsupported  by 
such  accomplishments  could  have  engaged  in  such  adventures, 
or  could  have  borne  up  against  the  difficulties  which  he  some- 
times must  have  encountered  ;  and  moreover,  we  have  modern 
instances  of  persons  that  have  maintained  their  abilities  for 
near  that  period. 

Were  we  to  suppose  Gurdon  to  be  only  twenty  years  of  age 
in  1232,  in  1295  he  would  be  eighty-three;  after  which  ad- 
vanced period  it  could  not  be  expected  that  he  should  live 
long.  From  the  silence,  therefore,  of  my  evidences,  it  seems 
probable  that  this  extraordinary  person  finished  his  life  in 
peace,  not  long  after,  at  his  mansion  of  Temple.  Gurdon's 
seal  had  for  its  device  —  a  man,  with  a  helmet  on  his  head, 
drawing  a  cross-bow  ;  the  legend,  ''Sigilliun  Ade  de  Gurdon  ;  " 
his  arms  were,  "  Goulis,  iii  floures  argent  issant  de  testes  de 
leopards."  ^ 

If  the  stout  and  unsubmitting  spirit  of  Gurdon  could  be  so 
much  influenced  by  the  belief  and  superstition  of  the  times, 
much  more  might  the  hearts  of  his  ladies  and  daughter.  And 
accordingly  we  find  that  Ameria,  by  the  consent  and  advice 


272  WHITE 

of  her  sons,  though  said  to  be  all  under  age,  makes  a  grant 
forever  of  some  lands  down  by  the  stream  at  Durton ;  and 
also  of  her  right  of  the  common  of  Durton  itself.^''  Johanna, 
the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Sir  Adam,  was  married,  I  find,  to 
Richard  Achard;  she  also  grants  to  the  prior  and  convent 
lands  and  tenements  in  the  village  of  Selborne,  which  her 
father  obtained  from  Thomas  Makerel ;  and  also  all  her  goods 
and  chattels  in  Selborne  for  the  consideration  of  two  hundred 
pounds  sterling.  This  last  business  was  transacted  in  the  first 
year  of  Edward  II.,  viz.,  1307.  It  has  been  observed  before 
that  Gurdon  had  a  natural  son  ;  this  person  was  called  by  the 
name  of  John  Dastard,  alias  Wastard,  but  more  probably  Bas- 
tard ;  since  bastardy,  in  those  days,  was  not  deemed  any  dis- 
grace, though  dastardy  was  esteemed  the  greatest.  He  was 
married  to  Gunnorie  Duncun ;  and  had  a  tenement  and  some 
land  granted  him  in  Selborne  by  his  sister  Johanna. 

Notes 

^  In  Saxon  Plegestow,  or  Plegstow.  —  G.  W. 

2  At  this  juncture  probably  the  vast  oak  was  planted  by  the  prior,  as  an 
ornament  to  his  new-acquired  market-place.  According  to  this  supposition 
the  oak  was  aged  432  years  when  blown  down.  —  G.  W. 

3  For  more  circumstances  respecting  the  Plestor,  see  Letter  II.  to  Mr. 
Pennant.  — G.  W. 

*  Bishop  Tanner,  in  his  "  Notitia  Monastica,"  has  made  a  mistake  re- 
specting the  market  and  fair  at  Selborne  ;  for  in  his  references  to  Dodsworth, 
cart.  54  Hen.  III.  m.  3.,  he  says,  '•'•  De  inercatu,  et  feria  de  Selebttrn.''''  But 
this  reference  is  wrong;  for,  instead  of  Seleburn,  it  proves  that  the  place 
there  meant  was  Lekeborne,  or  Legeborne,  in  the  county  of  Lincoln.  This 
error  was  copied  from  the  index  of  the  Cat.  MSS.  Angl.  It  does  not  appear 
that  there  ever  was  a  chartered  fair  at  Selborne.  For  several  particulars 
respecting  the  present  fair  at  Selborne,  see  Letter  XXVI.  of  these  Antiqui- 
ties.—G.  W. 

^  Since  the  letters  respecting  Wolmer  Forest  and  Aylesholt  were  printed, 
the  author  has  been  favored  with  the  following  extracts  :  — 

"In  the  'Act  of  Resumption,  i  Hen.  VII.'  it  was  provided,  that  it  be  not 
prejudicial  to  '  Harry  at  Lode,'  ranger  of  our  forest  of  Wolmere,  to  him  by 
oure  letters  patents  before  tyme  gevyn."  —  Rolls  of  Pari.,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  370. 

"  In  the  1 1  Hen.  VII.,  1495,  '  Warlham  (Ward  le  Ham)  and  the  office  of 
forest  (forester)  of  Wolmere,'  were  held  by  Edmund,  duke  of  Suffolk."  — 
Rolls,  ib.  474. 

"Act  of  general  pardon,  14  Hen.  VIII.,  1523,  not  to  extend  to  '  Rich.  Bp. 
of  Wynton  (Bishop  Fox)  for  any  seizure  or  forfeiture  of  liberties,  etc.,  within 
the  forest  of  Wolmer,  Alysholt,  and  Newe  Forest ;  nor  to  any  person  for 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  273 

waste,  etc.,  within  the  manor  of  Wardlam,  or  parish  of  Wardlam  (Ward  le 
Ham)  ;  nor  to  abusing,  etc.,  of  any  ofiSce  or  fee,  within  the  said  forests  of 
Wolmer  or  Alysholt,  or  the  said  park  of  Wardlam.' "  County  Suth't. — 
Rolls  prefixt  to  ist  Vol.  of  Journals  of  the  Lords.,  p.  xciii.  b. 

To  these  may  be  added  some  other  particulars,  taken  from  a  book  lately 
published,  entitled  "An  Account  of  all  the  Manors,  Messuages,  Lands,  etc., 
in  the  Different  Counties  of  England  and  Wales,  held  by  Lease  from  the 
Crown ;  as  contained  in  the  Report  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  to 
inquire  into  the  State  and  Condition  of  the  Royal  Forests,  etc."     London, 

17S7. 

"  Southampton. 

P.  64.  "A  fee-farm  rent  of  ;^3i  is.  \\d.  out  of  the  manors  of  East  and 
West  Ward  le  Ham  ;  and  also  the  office  of  lieutenant  or  keeper  of  the  forest 
or  chase  of  Aliceholt,  and  Wolmer,  with  all  offices,  fees,  commodities,  and 
privileges  thereto  belonging. 

"Names  of  lessees,  William,  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  and  others  (in  trust). 

"Date  of  the  last  lease,  March  23rd,  1780;  granted  for  such  term  as 
would  fill  up  the  subsisting  term  to  31  years. 

"Expiration  March  23rd,  181 1. 

'•'Southampton. 
"  Hundreds  —  Selborne  and  Finchdeane. 
"  Honors  and  manors,  etc. 

"  Aliceholt  Forest,  three  parks  there. 

"  Bensted  and  Kingsley ;  a  petition  of  the  parishioners  concerning  the 
three  parks  in  Aliceholt  forest." 

William,  first  earl  of  Dartmouth,  and  paternal  grandfather  to  the  present 
Lord  Stawel,  was  a  lessee  of  the  forests  of  Aliceholt  and  Wolmer  before 
brigadier-general  Emanuel  Scroope  Howe.  —  G.  W. 

^  See  Letter  II.  of  these  Antiquities.  —  G.  W. 

■^  Hocheleye,  now  spelt  Hawkley,  is  in  the  hundred  of  Selborne,  and  has 
a  mill  at  this  day.  —  G.  W. 

*  Reg.  Winton,  Stratford,  but  query  Stratford ;  for  Stratford  was  not 
bishop  of  Winton  till  1323,  near  thirty  years  afterwards.  —  G.  W. 

^  From  the  collection  of  Thomas  Martin,  Esq.,  in  the  "  Antiquarian  Rep- 
ertory'," p.  109,  No.  XXXI.  — G.  W. 

1°  Durton,  now  called  Dorton,  is  still  a  common  for  the  copyholders  of 
Selborne  Manor.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER  XI 

The  Knights  Templars,^  who  have  been  mentioned  in  a 
former  letter,  had  considerable  property  in  Selborne  ;  and  also 
a  preceptory  at  Sudington,  now  called  Southington,  a  hamlet 
lying  one  mile  to  the  east  of  the  village.  Bishop  Tanner  men- 
tions only  two  such  houses  of  the  Templars  in  all  the  county 
19 


274  WHITE 

of  Southampton,  viz.,  Godesfield,  founded  by  Henry  de  Blois, 
bishop  of  Winchester,  and  South  Badeisley,  a  preceptory  of 
the  Knights  Templars,  and  afterwards  of  St.  John  of  Jeru- 
salem, valued  at  one  hundred  and  eighteen  pounds  sixteen 
shillings  and  sevenpence  per  annum.  Here  then  was  a 
preceptory  unnoticed  by  antiquaries,  between  the  village  and 
Temple.  Whatever  the  edifice  of  the  preceptory  might  have 
been,  it  has  long  since  been  dilapidated ;  and  the  whole  ham- 
let contains  now  only  one  mean  farmhouse,  though  there  were 
two  in  the  memory  of  man. 

It  has  been  usual  for  the  religious  of  different  orders  to  fall 
into  great  dissensions,  and  especially  when  they  were  near 
neighbors.  Instances  of  this  sort  we  have  heard  of  between 
the  monks  of  Canterbury ;  and  again  between  the  old  abbey 
of  St.  Swythun,  and  the  comparatively  new  minster  of  Hyde 
in  the  city  of  Winchester.^  These  feuds  arose  probably  from 
different  orders  being  crowded  within  the  narrow  limits  of  a 
city,  or  garrison  town,  where  every  inch  of  ground  was  pre- 
cious and  an  object  of  contention.  But  with  us,  as  far  as  my 
evidences  extend,  and  while  Robert  Saunford  was  master,^ 
and  Richard  Carpenter  was  preceptor,  the  Templars  and  the 
priors  lived  in  an  intercourse  of  mutual  good  offices. 

My  papers  mention  three  transactions,  the  exact  time  of 
which  cannot  be  ascertained,  because  they  fell  out  before 
dates  were  usually  inserted ;  though  probably  they  happened 
about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  not  long  after 
Saunford  became  master.  The  first  of  these  is  that  the  Tem- 
plars shall  pay  to  the  Priory  of  Selborne,  annually,  the  sum 
of  ten  shillings  at  two  half-yearly  payments  from  their  cham- 
ber, "  camera,"  at  Sudington,  "  per  manum  preceptoris,  vel 
ballivi  nostri,  qui  pro  tempore  fuerit  ibidem,"  till  they  can 
provide  the  prior  and  canons  with  an  equivalent  in  lands  or 
rents  within  four  or  five  miles  of  the  said  convent.  It  is  also 
further  agreed  that,  if  the  Templars  shall  be  in  arrears  for 
one  year,  then  the  prior  shall  be  empowered  to  distrain  upon 
their  live-stock  in  Bradeseth.  The  next  matter  was  a  grant 
from  Robert  de  Sunford  to  the  Priory  forever,  of  a  good  and 
sufficient  road,  "  cheminum,"  capable  of  admitting  carriages, 
and  proper  for  the  drift  of  their  larger  cattle,  from  the  way 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  2/5 

which  extends  from  Sudington  towards  Blakemere,  on  to  the 
lands  which  the  convent  possesses  in  Bradeseth. 

The  third  transaction  (though  for  want  of  dates  we  cannot 
say  which  happened  first  and  which  last)  was  a  grant  from 
Robert  Samford  to  the  Priory  of  a  tenement  and  its  appurte- 
nances in  the  village  of  Selborne,  given  to  the  Templars  by 
Americus  de  Vasci.*  This  property,  by  the  manner  of  de- 
scribing it,  —  "  totum  tenementum  cum  omnibus  pertinentiis 
suis,  scilicet  in  terris,  &  hominibus,  in  pratis  &  pascuis,  & 
nemoribus,"  etc.,  seems  to  have  been  no  inconsiderable  pur- 
chase, and  was  sold  for  two  hundred  marks  sterling,  to  be 
applied  for  the  buying  of  more  land  for  the  support  of  the 
holy  war. 

Prior  John  is  mentioned  as  the  person  to  whom  Vasci's 
land  is  conveyed.  But  in  Willis's  list  there  is  no  Prior  John 
till  1339,  several  years  after  the  dissolution  of  the  order  of 
the  Templars  in  13 12,  so  that,  unless  Willis  is  wrong,  and 
has  omitted  a  Prior  John  since  1262  (that  being  the  date  of 
his  first  prior),  these  transactions  must  have  fallen  out  before 
that  date. 

I  find  not  the  least  traces  of  any  concerns  between  Gurdon 
and  the  Knights  Templars ;  but  probably  after  his  death  his 
daughter  Johanna  might  have,  and  might  bestow.  Temple  on 
that  order  in  support  of  the  holy  land ;  and,  moreover,  she 
seems  to  have  been  removing  from  Selborne,  when  she  sold 
her  goods  and  chattels  to  the  Priory,  as  mentioned  above. 

Temple,  no  doubt,  did  belong  to  the  Knights,  as  may  be 
asserted,  not  only  from  its  name,  but  also  from  another  cor- 
roborating circumstance  of  its  being  still  a  manor,  tithe-free  ; 
"for,  by  virtue  of  their  order,"  says  Blackstone,  "the  lands 
of  the  Knights  Templars  were  privileged  by  the  Pope  with  a 
discharge  from  tithes." 

Antiquaries  have  been  much  puzzled  about  the  terms  pre- 
ceptores  and  preccptoritini,  not  being  able  to  determine  what 
officer  or  edifice  was  meant.  But  perhaps  all  the  while  the 
passage  quoted  above  from  one  of  my  papers,  "  per  manum 
preceptoris  vel  ballivi  nostri,  qui  pro  tempore  fuerit,  ibidem," 
may  help  to  explain  the  difficulty.  For  if  it  be  allowed  here 
that  preceptor  and  ballivus'  are  synonymous  words,  then  the 


2/6  WHITE 

brother  who  took  on  him  that  office  resided  in  the  house  of 
the  Templars  at  Sudington,  a  preceptory ;  where  he  was  their 
preceptor,  superintended  their  affairs,  received  their  money, 
and,  as  in  the  instance  there  mentioned,  paid  from  their  cham- 
ber, ^'camera,''  as  directed;  so  that,  according  to  this  expla- 
nation, a  preceptor  was  no  other  than  a  steward,  and  a  precep- 
toriiim  was  his  residence.  I  am  well  aware  that,  according 
to  strict  Latin,  the  vel  should  have  been  seii  or  sive,  and  the 
order  of  the  words  *^ preceptoris  nostri,  vel  ballivi,  qui"  —  et 
^^  ibidem''  should  have  been  ibi ;  ibidem  necessarily  having 
reference  to  two  or  more  persons ;  but  it  will  hardly  be  thought 
fair  to  apply  the  niceties  of  classic  rules  to  the  Latinity  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  the  writers  of  which  seem  to  have  aimed 
at  nothing  farther  than  to  render  themselves  intelligible. 

There  is  another  remark  that  we  have  made,  which,  I  think, 
corroborates  what  has  been  advanced ;  and  that  is,  that  Richard 
Carpenter,  preceptor  of  Sudington,  at  the  time  of  the  transac- 
tions between  the  Templars  and  Selborne  Priory,  did  always 
sign  last  as  a  witness  in  the  three  deeds ;  he  calls  himself 
frater,  it  is  true,  among  many  other  brothers,  but  subscribes 
with  a  kind  of  deference,  as  if,  for  the  time  being,  his  office 
rendered  him  an  inferior  in  the  community.^ 

Notes 
1  The  Military  Orders  of  the  Religious 

The  Knights  Hospitalers  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  afterwards  called 
Knights  of  Rhodes,  now  of  Malta,  came  into  England  about  the  year  i  loo, 
I  Hen.  I. 

The  Knights  Templars  came  into  England  pretty  early  in  Stephen''s  reign, 
which  commenced  1135.  The  order  was  dissolved  in  131 2,  and  their  estates 
given  by  Act  of  Parliament  to  the  Hospitalers  in  1323  (all  in  Edw.  H.), 
though  many  of  their  estates  were  never  actually  enjoyed  by  the  said  Hos- 
pitalers.—  Vid.  Tanner,  p.  24,  10. 

The  commanderies  of  the  Hospitalers,  and  preceptories  of  Templars,  were 
each  subordinate  to  the  principal  house  of  their  respective  religion  in  London. 
Although  these  are  the  different  denominations,  which  Tanner  at  p.  37 
assigns  to  the  cells  of  these  different  orders,  yet  throughout  the  work  very 
frequent  instances  occur  of  preceptories  attributed  to  the  Hospitalers  ;  and 
if  in  some  passages  of  "Notitia  Monast."  commanderies  are  attributed  to  the 
Templars,  it  is  only  where  the  place  afterwards  became  the  property  of  the 
Hospitalers,  and  so  is  there  indifferently  styled  preceptory  or  commandery  ; 
see  pp.  243,  263,  276,  577,  678.     But,  to  account  for  the  first  observed  inac- 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  2/7 

curacy,  it  is  probable  the  preceptories  of  the  Templars,  when  given  to  the 
Hospitalers,  were  still  vulgarly,  however,  called  by  their  old  name  of  pre- 
ceptories ;  whereas  in  propriety  societies  of  the  Hospitalers  were  indeed 
(as  has  been  said)  commanderies.  And  such  deviation  from  the  strictness 
of  expression  in  this  case  might  occasion  those  societies  of  Hospitalers  also 
to  be  indifferently  called  preceptories,  which  had  originally  been  vested  in 
them,  having  never  belonged  to  the  Templars  at  all.  —  See  in  Archer, 
p.  609;  Tanner,  p.  300,  col.  i,  720,  n.  e. 

It  is  observable  that  the  very  statute  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Hospitalers 
holds  the  same  language  ;  for  there,  in  the  enumeration  of  particulars  occur 
"  commanderies,  preceptories."  Codex,  p.  1 190.  Now  this  intercommunity 
of  names,  and  that  in  an  Act  of  Parliament  too,  made  some  of  our  ablest 
antiquaries  look  upon  a  preceptory  and  commandery  as  strictly  synonymous  ; 
accordingly  we  find  Camden,  in  his  "  Britannia,"  explaining  prasceptoria  in 
the  text  by  a  commandery  in  the  margin,  pp.  356,  510. — J.  L. 

Commandery,  a  manor  or  chief  messuage  with  lands,  etc.,  belonging  to 
the  Priory  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem;  and  he  who  had  the  government  of 
such  house  was  called  the  commander,  who  could  not  dispose  of  it  but  to 
the  use  of  the  Priory,  only  taking  thence  his  own  sustenance,  according 
to  his  degree,  who  was  usually  a  brother  of  the  same  Priory.  —  Cowell. 
He  adds  (confounding  these  with  preceptories)  they  are  in  many  places 
termed  temples,  as  Temple  Bruere  in  Lincolnshire,  etc.  Preceptories  were 
possessed  by  the  more  eminent  sort  of  Templars,  whom  the  chief  master 
created  and  called  Praeceptores  Templi. —  Cowell,  who  refers  to  Stephens's 
Dejtirisd.  lib.  iv.  c.  10,  no.  27. 

Placita  de  juratis  et  assis  coram  Salom.  de  Roff  et  sociis  suis  justic. 
Itiner.  apud  Wynton,  etc.,  anno  regni  R.  Edwardi  fil.  Reg.  Hen.  octavo.  — 
"  et  Magr.  Milicie  Templi  in  Angl.  ht  emendasse  panis,  et  suis  [cerevisias] 
in  Sodington,  et  nescint  q°.  war.  et  —  et  magist.  Milicie  Templi  non  ven  io 
distr."     Chapter  House,  IVesiminster.  —  G.  W. 

2  NOTITIA   MONASTICA,  p.  155 

"  Winchester,  Newminster.  King  Alfred  founded  here  first  only  a  house 
and  chapel  for  the  learned  monk  Grimbald,  whom  he  had  brought  out  of 
Flanders  ;  but  afterwards  projected,  and  by  his  will  ordered,  a  noble  church 
or  religious  house  to  be  built  in  the  cemetery  on  the  north  side  of  the  old 
minster  or  cathedral,  and  designed  that  Grimbald  should  preside  over  it. 
This  was  begun  a.d.  901,  and  finished  to  the  honor  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 
Virgin  Mary,  and  St.  Peter,  by  his  son  King  Edward,  who  placed  therein 
secular  canons,  but  a.d.  963  they  were  expelled,  and  an  abbot  and  monks 
put  in  possession  by  Bishop  Ethelwold. 

"  Now  the  churches  and  habitations  of  these  two  societies  being  so  very 
near  together,  the  differences  which  were  occasioned  by  their  singing,  bells, 
and  other  matters  arose  to  so  great  a  height,  that  the  religious  of  the  new 
monastery  thought  fit,  about  a.d.  1119,  to  remove  to  a  better  and  more 
quiet  situation  without  the  walls,  on  the  north  part  of  the  city  called  Hyde, 
where  King  Edward  I.,  at  the  instance  of  Will.  GiflTord,  bishop  of  Winton, 
founded  a  stately  abbey  for  them.    St.  Peter  was  generally  accounted  patron, 


2/8  WHITE 

though  it  is  sometimes  called  the  monastery  of  St.  Grimbald,  and  sometimes 
of  St.  Barnabas,"  etc.  — G.  W. 

A  few  years  since  a  county  bridewell,  or  house  of  correction,  has  been 
built  on  the  immediate  site  of  Hyde  Abbey.  In  digging  up  the  old  founda- 
tions the  workmen  found  the  head  of  a  crosier  in  good  preservation. — 
G.  C.  D. 

8  Robert  Saunforde  was  master  of  the  Temple  in  1241 ;  Guido  de  Foresta 
was  the  next  in  1292.  The  former  is  fifth  in  a  list  of  the  masters,  in  a  MS. 
"Bib.  Cotton.  Nero.  E.  VI."  — G.  W. 

*  Americus  Vasci,  by  his  name,  must  have  been  an  Italian,  and  had  been 
probably  a  soldier  of  fortune,  and  one  of  Gurdon's  captains.  Americus 
Vespucio,  the  person  who  gave  name  to  the  new  world,  was  a  Florentine. 
—  G.  W. 

^  In  two  or  three  ancient  records  relating  to  St.  Oswald's  Hospital  in  the 
city  of  Worcester,  printed  by  Dr.  Nash,  pp.  227,  228,  of  his  collections  for 
the  history  of  Worcestershire,  the  words  preceptorium  and  preceptoria  signify 
the  mastership  of  the  said  hospital :  "  ad  preceptorium  sive  magisterium 
presentavit  —  preceptorii  sive  magisterii  patronas .  Vacavit  dicta  preceptoria 
seu  magisterium  —  ad  preceptoriam  et  regimen  dicti  hospitalis  —  Te  pre- 
ceptorem  sive  magistrum  prefecimus." 

Where  preceptorium  denotes  a  building  or  apartment  it  may  probably 
mean  the  master's  lodgings,  or  at  least  the  preceptor's  apartment,  whatsoever 
may  have  been  the  office  or  employment  of  the  said  preceptor. 

A  preceptor  is  mentioned  inThoresby's  "Ducatus  Leodiensis,"  or  "His- 
tory of  Leeds,"  p.  225,  and  a  deed  witnessed  by  the  preceptor  and  chaplain 
before  dates  were  inserted.  —  Du  Fresne's  Supplement :  "  Preceptorias,  prae- 
dia  preceptoribus  assignata."  Cowell,  in  his  "  Law  Dictionary,"  enumerates 
sixteen  preceptoria,  or  preceptories,  in  England ;  but  Sudington  is  not 
among  them. — It  is  remarkable  that  Gurtlerus,  in  his  "Historia  Teni- 
plariorum,"  Amstel.  1691,  never  once  mentions  the  words  preceptor  or 
preceptorium.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XII 

The  ladies  and  daughter  of  Sir  Adam  Gurdon  were  not  th^ 
only  benefactresses  to  the  Priory  of  Selborne ;  for,  in  the  year 
1 28 1,  Ela  Longspee  obtained  masses  to  be  performed  for  her 
soul's  health  ;  and  the  prior  entered  into  an  engagement  that 
one  of  the  convent  should  every  day  say  a  special  mass  for- 
ever for  the  said  benefactress,  whether  living  or  dead.  She 
also  engaged  within  five  years  to  pay  to  the  said  convent  one 
hundred  marks  of  silver  for  the  support  of  a  chantry  and  chantry 
chaplain,  who  should  perform  his  masses  daily  in  the  parish 
church  of  Selborne.^     In  the  east  end  of  the  south  aisle  there 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  279 

are  two  sharp-pointed  Gothic  niches  ;  one  of  these  probably 
was  the  place  under  which  these  masses  were  performed ; 
and  there  is  the  more  reason  to  suppose  as  much,  because,  till 
within  these  thirty  years,  this  space  was  fenced  off  with  a 
Gothic  wooden  railing,  and  was  known  by  the  name  of  the 
South  Chancel.^ 

The  solicitude  expressed  by  the  donor  plainly  shows  her  piety 
and  firm  persuasion  of  the  efficacy  of  prayers  for  the  dead  ;  for 
she  seems  to  have  made  every  provision  for  the  payment  of 
the  sum  stipulated  within  the  appointed  time,  and  to  have  felt 
much  anxiety  lest  her  death,  or  the  neglect  of  her  executors 
or  assigns,  might  frustrate  her  intentions.  —  "  Et  si  contingat 
me  in  solucione  perdicte  pecunie  annis  predictis  in  parte  aut 
in  toto  deficere,  quod  absit ;  concedo  et  obligo  pro  me  et  assigna- 
tis  meis,  quod  Vice-Comes  .  .  .  Oxon  et  .  .  .  qui  pro  tempore 
fuerint,  per  omnes  terras  et  tenementa,  et  omnia  bona  mea 
mobilia  et  immobilia  ubicunque  in  balliva  sua  fuerint  inventa 
ad  solucionem  predictam  faciendam  possent  nos  compellere." 
And  again  —  "  Et  si  contingat  dictos  religiosos  labores  seu 
expensas  facere  circa  predictam  pecuniam,  seu  circa  partem 
dicte  pecunie ;  volo  quod  dictorum  religiosorum  impense  et 
labores  levantur  ita  quod  predicto  priori  vel  uni  canonicorum 
suorum  super  hiis  simplici  verbo  credatur  sine  alterius  honere 
probacionis ;  et  quod  utrique  predictorum  virorum  in  unam 
marcam  argenti  pro  cujuslibet  distrincione  super  me  facienda 
tenear.  —  Dat.  apud  Wareborn  die  sabati  proxima  ante  fes- 
tum  St.  Marci  evangeliste,  anno  regni  regis  Edwardi  tertio 
decimo."^ 

But  the  reader,  perhaps,  would  wish  to  be  better  informed 
respecting  this  benefactress,  of  whom  as  yet  he  has  heard  no 
particulars. 

The  Ela  Longspee,  therefore,  above-mentioned,  was  a  lady 
of  high  birth  and  rank,  and  became  countess  to  Thomas  de 
Newburgh,  the  sixth  earl  of  Warwick :  she  was  the  second 
daughter  of  the  famous  Ela  Longspee,  Countess  of  Salisbury, 
by  William  Longspee,  natural  son  of  King  Edward  IL,  by 
Rosamond. 

Our  lady,  following  the  steps  of  her  illustrious  mother,*  "  was 
a  great  benefactress  to  the  University  of  Oxford,  to  the  canons 


280  WHITE 

of  Oseney,  the  nuns  of  Godstow,  and  other  religious  houses  in 
Oxfordshire.  She  died  very  aged,  in  the  year  1 300,^  and  was 
buried  before  the  high  altar  in  the  abbey  church  of  Oseney, 
at  the  head  of  the  tomb  of  Henry  d'Oily,  under  a  flat  marble, 
on  which  was  inlaid  her  portraiture,  in  the  habit  of  a  vowess, 
engraved  on  a  copper-plate."  —  Edmondson's  "  History  and 
Genealogical  Account  of  the  Grevilles,"  p.  23. 

Notes 

^  A  chantry  was  a  chapel  joined  to  some  cathedral  or  parish  church,  and 
endowed  with  annual  revenues  for  the  maintenance  of  one  or  more  priests 
to  sing  mass  daily  for  the  soul  of  the  founder  and  others.  —  G.  W. 

2  For  what  is  said  more  respecting  this  chantry,  see  Letter  III.  of  these 
Antiquities.  —  Mention  is  made  of  a  Nicholas  Langrish,  capellanus  de  Sel- 
borne,  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  Was  he  chantry-chaplain  to  Ela  Longspee, 
whose  masses  were  probably  continued  to  the  time  of  the  Reformation  ? 
More  will  be  said  of  this  person  hereafter.  —  G.  W. 

^  Ancient  deeds  are  often  dated  on  a  Sunday,  having  been  executed  in 
churches  and  church-yards  for  the  sake  of  notoriety,  and  for  the  conveniency 
of  procuring  several  witnesses  to  attest.  —  G.  W. 

*  Ela  Longspee,  Countess  of  Salisbury,  in  1232  founded  a  monastery  at 
Lacock,  in  the  county  of  Wilts,  and  also  another  at  Hendon,  in  the  county 
of  Somerset,  in  her  widowhood,  to  the  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  St. 
Bernard.  —  Camden. 

^  Thus  she  survived  the  foundation  of  her  chantry  at  Selborne  fifteen 
years.  About  this  lady  and  her  mother  consult  Dugdale's  "  Baronage,"  i. 
72,  175,  177;  Dugdale's  "  Warwickshire,"  i.  383  ;  Leland's  "Itin.,"  ii.  45.— 
G,  W. 


LETTER   Xni 

The  reader  is  here  presented  with  the  titles  of  five  forms 
respecting  the  choosing  of  a  prior.  "  Charta  petens  licen- 
tiam  elegendi  prelatum  a  Domino  episcopo  Wintoniensi:"  — 
*'  Forma  licentie  concesse  :  "  —  "  Forma  decreti  post  electionem 
conficiendi :  "  —  108.  "  Modus  procedendi  ad  electionem  per 
formam  scrutinii :  "  —  et  "  Forma  ricte  presentandi  electum." 
Such  evidences  are  rare  and  curious,  and  throw  great  light 
upon  the  general  niotiastico-ecclesiastical  history  of  this  king- 
dom, not  yet  sufficiently  understood. 

Jn  the  year  1324  there  was  an  election  for  a  prior  at  Selborne, 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  28 1 

when,  some  difficulties  occurring  and  a  devolution  taking  place, 
application  was  made  to  Stratford,  who  was  bishop  of  Win- 
chester at  that  time,  and  of  course  the  visitor  and  patron  of 
the  convent  at  the  spot  above-mentioned.^ 

An  Extract  from  "  Reg.  Stratford."     Winton. 

P.  4.  "  Commissio  facta  sub-priori  de  Selebourne,"  by  the 
bishop  enjoining  him  to  preserve  the  discipline  of  the  order  in 
the  convent  during  the  vacancy  made  by  the  late  death  of  the 
prior,  ("  nuper  pastoris  solatio  destituta,")  dated  4th  kal.  Maii. 
ann.  2do  sc.  of  his  consecration.      [Sc.  1324.] 

P.  6.   "CustodiaPrioratusdeSeleburnevacantis,"  committed 

by  the  bishop  to  Nicholas  de  la ,  a  layman,  it  belonging 

to  the  bishop,  "  ratione  vacationis  ejusdem,"  in  July  1324,  ibid, 
"negotium  electionis  de  Selebourne.  Acta  coram  Johanne 
Episcopo,  &c.,  1324  in  negotio  electionis  de  fratre  Waltero  de 
Insula  concanonico  prioratus  de  Selebourne,"  lately  elected  by 
the  sub-prior  and  convent,  by  way  of  scrutiny  ;  that  it  appeared 
to  the  bishop,  by  certificate  from  the  dean  of  Alton,  that  solemn 
citation  and  proclamation  had  been  made  in  the  church  of  the 
convent  where  the  election  was  held  that  any  who  opposed  the 
said  election  or  elected  should  appear.  Some  difficulties  were 
started,  which  the  bishop  overruled,  and  confirmed  the  election, 
and  admitted  the  new  prior  sub  Jiac  forma :  — 

"  In  Dei  nomine  Amen.  Ego  Johannes  permissione  divina, 
&c.,  te  Walterum  de  Insula  ecclesie  de  Selebourne  nostre  dio- 
ceseos  nostrique  patronatus  vacantis,  canonicum  et  cantorem, 
virum  utique  providum,  et  discretum,  litcrarum  scientia  pre- 
ditum,  vita  moribus  et  conversatione  merito  commendatum,  in 
ordine  sacerdotali  et  etate  legitima  constitutum,  de  legitime 
matrimonio  procreatum,  in  ordine  et  religione  Sancti  Augustini 
de  Selebourne  expresse  professum,  in  spiritualibus  et  tempo- 
ralibus  circumspectum, //^r^  nobis  hac  devoluto  in  hac  parte,  in 
dicte  ecclesie  de  Selebourne  perfectum  priorem ;  curam  et  ad- 
ministrationem  ejusdem  tibi  in  spiritualibus  et  temporalibus 
committentes.  Dat.  apud  Selebourne  XIII.  kalend.  Augusti 
anno  supradicto." 

There  follows  an  order  to  the  sub-prior  and  convent  pro 
obedientia  : 


282  WHITE 

A  mandate  to  Nicholas  above-named  to  release  the  Priory 
to  the  new  prior : 

A  mandate  for  the  induction  of  the  new  prior. 

Note 

^  Stratford  was  bishop  of  Winchester  from  1323  to  1333,  when  he  was 
translated  to  Canterbury.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER  XIV 

"In  the  year  1373  Wykeham,  bishop  of  Winchester,  held 
a  visitation  of  his  whole  diocese  ;  not  only  of  the  secular  clergy 
through  the  several  deaneries,  but  also  of  the  monasteries,  and 
religious  houses  of  all  sorts,  which  he  visited  in  person.  The 
next  year  he  sent  his  commissioners  with  power  to  correct  and 
reform  the  several  irregularities  and  abuses  which  he  had  dis- 
covered in  the  course  of  his  visitation. 

"  Some  years  afterwards,  the  bishop,  having  visited  three 
several  times  all  the  religious  houses  throughout  his  diocese, 
and  being  well  informed  of  the  state  and  condition  of  each, 
and  of  the  particular  abuses  which  required  correction  and 
reformation,  besides  the  orders  which  he  had  already  given, 
and  the  remedies  which  he  had  occasionally  applied  by  his 
commissioners,  now  issued  his  injunctions  to  each  of  them. 
They  were  accommodated  to  their  several  exigencies,  and 
intended  to  correct  the  abuses  introduced,  and  to  recall  them 
all  to  a  strict  observation  of  the  rules  of  their  respective  orders. 
Many  of  these  injunctions  are  still  extant,  and  are  evident 
monuments  of  the  care  and  attention  with  which  he  discharged 
this  part  of  his  episcopal  duty."  ^ 

Some  of  these  injunctions  I  shall  here  produce ;  and  they 
are  such  as  will  not  fail,  I  think,  to  give  satisfaction  to  the 
antiquary,  both  as  never  having  been  published  before,  and 
as  they  are  a  curious  picture  of  monastic  irregularities  at  that 
time. 

The  documents  that  I  allude  to  are  contained  in  the  "  Nota- 
bilis  Visitatio  de  Seleburne,"  held  at  the  Priory  of  that  place, 
by  Wykeham  in  person,  in  the  year  1387. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  283 

This  evidence,  in  the  original,  is  written  on  two  skins  of 
parchment ;  the  one  large,  and  the  other  smaller,  and  consists 
of  a  preamble,  thirty-six  items,  and  a  conclusion,  which  alto- 
gether evince  the  patient  investigation  of  the  visitor,  for  which 
he  had  always  been  so  remarkable  in  all  matters  of  moment, 
and  how  much  he  had  at  heart  the  regularity  of  those  institu- 
tions, of  whose  efficacy  in  their  prayers  for  the  dead  he  was 
so  firmly  persuaded.  As  the  bishop  was  so  much  in  earnest, 
we  may  be  assured  that  he  had  nothing  in  view  but  to  correct 
and  reform  what  he  found  amiss,  and  was  under  no  bias  to 
blacken  or  misrepresent  as  the  commissioners  of  Thomas 
Lord  Cromwell  seem  in  part  to  have  done  at  the  time  of  the 
Reformation.^  We  may  therefore  with  reason  suppose  that 
the  bishop  gives  us  an  exact  delineation  of  the  morals  and 
manners  of  the  canons  of  Selborne  at  that  juncture;  and  that 
what  he  found  they  had  omitted  he  enjoins  them ;  and  for 
what  they  have  done  amiss,  and  contrary  to  their  rules  and 
statutes,  he  reproves  them ;  and  threatens  them  with  punish- 
ment suitable  to  their  irregularities. 

The  visitatio  is  of  considerable  length,  and  cannot  be  intro- 
duced into  the  body  of  this  work ;  we  shall  therefore  refer  the 
reader  to  the  Appendix,  where  he  will  find  every  particular, 
while  we  shall  take  some  notice,  and  make  some  remarks  on 
the  most  singular  items  as  they  occur. 

In  the  preamble  the  visitor  says —  "  Considering  the  charge 
lying  upon  us,  that  your  blood  may  not  be  required  at  our 
hands,  we  came  down  to  visit  your  Priory,  as  our  office  required  : 
and  every  time  we  repeated  our  visitation  we  found  something 
still  not  only  contrary  to  regular  rules  but  also  repugnant  to 
religion  and  good  reputation." 

In  the  first  article  after  the  preamble  —  "he  commands  them 
on  their  obedience,  and  on  pain  of  the  greater  excommunica- 
tion, to  see  that  the  canonical  hours  by  night  and  by  day  be 
sung  in  their  choir,  and  the  masses  of  the  Blessed  Mary,  and 
other  accustomed  masses,  be  celebrated  at  the  proper  hours 
with  devotion,  and  at  moderate  pauses;  and  that  it  be  not 
allowed  to  any  to  absent  themselves  from  the  hours  and 
masses,  or  to  withdraw  before  they  are  finished." 

Item  2nd.     He  enjoins  them  to  observe  that  silence  to  which 


284  WHITE 

they  are  so  strictly  bound  by  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine  at 
stated  times,  and  wholly  to  abstain  from  frivolous  conversation. 

Item  4th.  "  Not  to  permit  such  frequent  passing  of  secular 
people  of  both  sexes  through  their  convent,  as  if  a  thorough- 
fare, from  whence  many  disorders  may  and  have  arisen." 

Item  5th.  "  To  take  care  that  the  doors  of  their  church 
and  priory  be  so  attended  to  that  no  suspected  and  disorderly 
females,  'suspectae  et  aJiae  inhonestae,'  pass  through  their  choir 
and  cloister  in  the  dark ;  "  and  to  see  that  the  doors  of  their 
church  between  the  nave  and  the  choir,  and  the  gates  of  their 
cloister  opening  into  the  fields,  be  constantly  kept  shut  until 
their  first  choir  service  is  over  in  the  morning,  at  dinner  time, 
and  when  they  meet  at  their  evening  collation.^ 

Item  6th  mentions  that  several  of  the  canons  are  found  to 
be  very  ignorant  and  illiterate,  and  enjoins  the  prior  to  see 
that  they  be  better  instructed  by  a  proper  master. 

Item  8th.  The  canons  are  here  accused  of  refusing  to  ac- 
cept of  their  statutable  clothing  year  by  year,  and  of  demand- 
ing a  certain  specified  sum  of  money,  as  if  it  were  their  annual 
rent  and  due.  This  the  bishop  forbids,  and  orders  that  the 
canons  shall  be  clothed  out  of  the  revenue  of  the  priory,  and 
the  old  garments  be  laid  by  in  a  chamber  and  given  to  the 
poor  according  to  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine. 

In  Item  9th  is  a  complaint  that  some  of  the  canons  are  given 
to  wander  out  of  the  precincts  of  the  convent  without  leave ; 
and  that  others  ride  to  their  manors  and  farms,  under  pretence 
of  inspecting  the  concerns  of  the  society,  when  they  please, 
and  stay  as  long  as  they  please.  But  they  are  enjoined  never 
to  stir  either  about  their  own  private  concerns  or  the  business 
of  the  convent  without  leave  from  the  prior :  and  no  canon  is 
to  go  alone,  but  to  have  a  brave  brother  to  accompany  him. 

The  injunction  in  Item  loth  at  this  distance  of  time  appears 
rather  ludicrous ;  but  the  visitor  seems  to  be  very  serious  on 
the  occasion,  and  says  that  it  has  been  evidently  proved  to  him 
that  some  of  the  canons,  living  dissolutely  after  the  flesh,  and 
not  after  the  spirit,  sleep  naked  in  their  beds  without  their 
breeches  and  shirts,  "absque  femoralibus  et  camisiis."*  He 
enjoins  that  these  culprits  shall  be  punished  by  severe  fasting, 
especially  if  they  shall  be  found  to  be  faulty  a  third  time ;  and 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  28$ 

threatens  the  prior  and  sub-prior  with  suspension  if  they  do 
not  correct  this  enormity. 

In  Item  nth  the  good  bishop  is  very  wroth  with  some  of 
the  canons,  whom  he  finds  to  be  professed  hunters  and  sports- 
men, keeping  hounds  and  pubHcly  attending  hunting-matches. 
These  pursuits,  he  says,  occasion  much  dissipation,  danger  to 
the  soul  and  body,  and  frequent  expense ;  he,  therefore,  wish- 
ing to  extirpate  this  vice  wholly  from  the  convent,  "  radicibus 
extirparc,''  does  absolutely  enjoin  the  canons  never  intention- 
ally to  be  present  at  any  public  noisy  tumultuous  himtings  ;  or 
to  keep  any  hounds,  by  themselves  or  by  others,  openly  or  by 
stealth,  within  the  convent,  or  without.^ 

In  Item  12th  he  forbids  the  canons  in  office  to  make  their 
business  a  plea  for  not  attending  the  service  of  the  choir ;  since 
by  these  means  either  divine  worship  is  neglected  or  their 
brother  canons  are  overburdened. 

By  Item  14th  we  are  informed  that  the  original  number  of 
canons  at  the  Priory  of  Selborne  was  fourteen ;  but  that  at 
this  visitation  they  were  found  to  be  let  down  to  eleven.  The 
visitor  therefore  strongly  and  earnestly  enjoins  them  that,  with 
all  due  speed  and  diligence,  they  should  proceed  to  the  elec- 
tion of  proper  persons  to  fill  up  the  vacancies,  under  pain  of 
the  greater  excommunication. 

In  Item  17th  the  prior  and  canons  are  accused  of  suffer- 
ing, through  neglect,  notorious  dilapidations  to  take  place 
among  their  manorial  houses  and  tenements,  and  in  the  walls 
and  enclosures  of  the  convent  itself,  to  the  shame  and  scandal 
of  the  institution  ;  they  are  therefore  enjoined,  under  pain  of 
suspension,  to  repair  all  defects  within  the  space  of  six  months. 

Item  1 8th  charges  them  with  grievously  burthening  the 
said  Priory  by  means  of  sales,  and  grants  of  liveries  ^  and 
corrodies." 

The  bishop,  in  Item  19th,  accuses  the  canons  of  neglect 
and  omission  with  respect  to  their  perpetual  chantry-services. 

Item  20th.  The  visitor  here  conjures  the  prior  and  canons 
not  to  withhold  their  original  alms,  '' eleemosynas  ;  "  nor  those 
that  they  were  enjoined  to  distribute  for  the  good  of  the  souls 
of  founders  and  benefactors ;  he  also  strictly  orders  that  the 
fragments  and  broken  victuals,  both  from  the  hall  of  their 


286  WHITE 

prior  and  their  common  refectory,  should  be  carefully  col- 
lected together  by  their  eleemosynarins,  and  given  to  the 
poor  without  any  diminution,  the  officer  to  be  suspended  for 
neglect  or  omission. 

Item  23rd.  He  bids  them  distribute  their  pittances,  '' pitan- 
cias,''  ^  regularly  on  obits,  anniversaries,  festivals,  etc. 

Item  25th.  All  and  every  one  of  the  canons  are  hereby  in- 
hibited from  standing  godfather  to  any  boy  for  the  future, 
"ne  compatres  alicujus  piieri  de  cetero  fieri  presumatis," 
unless  by  express  license  from  the  bishop  obtained ;  because 
from  such  relationship  favor  and  affection,  nepotism,  and 
undue  influence  arise,  to  the  injury  and  detriment  of  religious 
institutions.^ 

Item  26th.  The  visitor  herein  severely  reprimands  the 
canons  for  appearing  publicly  in  what  would  be  called  in  the 
universities  an  unstatutable  manner,  and  for  wearing  of  boots, 
"  caligse  de  Burneto,  et  sotttlarium  —  in  ocrearum  loco,  ad 
modum  sotularium."  ^'^ 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  bishop  expresses  more  warmth 
against  this  than  any  other  irregularity;  and  strictly  enjoins 
them,  under  pain  of  ecclesiastical  censures,  and  even  impris- 
onment if  necessary  (a  threat  not  made  use  of  before),  for 
the  future  to  wear  boots,  "ocreis  seu  botis,"  according  to 
the  regular  usage  of  their  ancient  order. 

Item  29th.  He  here  again,  but  with  less  earnestness,  for- 
bids them  foppish  ornaments,  and  the  affectation  of  appear- 
ing like  beaux,  with  garments  edged  with  costly  furs,  with 
fringed  gloves,  and  silken  girdles  trimmed  with  gold  and 
silver.  It  is  remarkable  that  no  punishment  is  annexed  to 
this  injunction. 

Item  31st.  He  here  singly  and  severally  forbids  each 
canon  not  admitted  to  a  cure  of  souls  to  administer  extreme 
unction,  or  the  sacrament,  to  clergy  or  laity ;  or  to  perform 
the  service  of  matrimony,  till  he  has  taken  out  the  license  of 
the  parish  priest. 

Item  32nd.  The  bishop  says  in  this  item  that  he  had  ob- 
served and  found,  in  his  several  visitations,  that  the  sacra- 
mental plate  and  cloths  of  the  altar,  surplices,  etc.,  were 
sometimes  left  in  such  an  uncleanly  and  disgusting  condition 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  287 

as  to  make  the  beholders  shudder  with  horror :  —  "  Quod  ali- 
quibus  sunt  horrori : "  ^^  he  therefore  enjoins  them  for  the 
future  to  see  that  the  plate,  cloths,  and  vestments  be  kept 
bright,  clean,  and  in  decent  order :  and,  what  must  surprise 
the  reader,  adds  that  he  expects  for  the  future  that  the 
sacrist  should  provide  for  the  sacrament  good  wine,  pure  and 
unadulterated ;  and  not,  as  had  often  been  the  practice,  that 
which  was  sour,  and  tending  to  decay :  —  he  says  farther,  that 
it  seems  quite  preposterous  to  omit  in  sacred  matters  that  at- 
tention to  decent  cleanliness,  the  neglect  of  which  would  dis- 
grace a  common  convivial  meeting.^^ 

Item  33rd  says  that,  though  the  relics  of  saints,  the  plate, 
holy  vestments,  and  books  of  religious  houses  are  forbidden 
by  canonical  institutes  to  be  pledged  or  lent  out  upon 
pawn,  yet,  as  the  visitor  finds  this  to  be  the  case  in  his  sev- 
eral visitations,  he  therefore  strictly  enjoins  the  prior  forth- 
with to  recall  those  pledges,  and  to  restore  them  to  the  con- 
vent ;  and  orders  that  all  the  papers  and  title-deeds  thereto 
belonging  should  be  safely  deposited,  and  kept  under  three 
locks  and  keys. 

In  the  course  of  the  "  Visitatio  Notabilis  "  the  constitutions 
of  Legate  Ottobonus  are  frequently  referred  to.  Ottobonus 
was  afterwards  Pope  Adrian  V.,  and  died  in  1276.  His  con- 
stitutions are  in  Lyndewood's  "Provinciale,"  and  were  drawn 
up  in  the  52nd  of  Henry  III. 

In  the  "Visitatio  Notabilis"  the  usual  punishment  is  fast- 
ing on  bread  and  beer ;  and  in  cases  of  repeated  delinquency 
on  bread  and  water.  On  these  occasions  qiiarta  feria,  et  sexta 
feria,  are  mentioned  often,  and  are  to  be  understood  of  the 
days  of  the  week  numerically  on  which  such  punishment  is 
to  be  inflicted. 

Notes 

1  See  Lowth's  "Life  of  Wykeham."  — G.  W. 

2  Letters  of  this  sort  from  Dr.  Layton  to  Thomas  Lord  Cromwell  are  still 
extant.  — G.  W. 

8  A  collation  was  a  meal  or  repast  on  a  fast-day  in  lieu  of  a  supper.  — 
G.  W. 

*  The  rule  alluded  to  in  Item  loth,  of  not  sleeping  naked,  was  enjoined 
the  Knights  Templars,  who  were  also  subject  to  the  rules  of  St.  Augustine. 
See  GuRTLERi,  Hist.  Templarioriitn. —  G.  W. 


288  WHITE 

^  Considering  the  strong  propensity  in  human  nature  towards  the  pleasures 
of  the  chase,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  the  canons  of  Canterbury  should 
languish  after  hunting,  when  from  their  situation,  so  near  the  precincts  of 
Wolmer  Forest,  the  king's  hounds  must  have  been  often  in  hearing,  and 
sometimes  in  sight  from  their  windows.  If  the  bishop  was  so  offended  at 
these  sporting  canons,  what  would  he  have  said  to  our  modern  fox-hunting 
divines!  —  G.  W. 

^  "  Liberationes,  or  liberaturse,  allowances  of  corn,  etc.,  to  servants,  de- 
livered at  certain  times  and  in  certain  quantities,  as  clothes,  were  among  the 
allowances  from  religious  houses  to  their  dependants.  See  the  corrodies 
granted  by  Croyland  Abbey.  —  Hist,  of  Cray  land,  Appendix,  No.  XXXIV. 

"  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  word  in  after  ages  came  to  be  confined  to 
the  uniform  of  the  retainers  or  servants  of  the  great,  who  were  hence  called 
livery  servants."     Sir  John  Cullum's  Hist,  of  Hawsted.  —  G.  W. 

■^  A  corrody  is  an  allowance  to  a  servant  living  in  an  abbey  or  priory. — 
G.  W. 

8  Pitancia,  an  allowance  of  bread  and  beer,  or  other  provision  to  any  pious 
use,  "especially  to  the  religious  in  a  monastery,  etc.,  for  augmentation  of 
their  commons."     Gloss,  to  Kennefs  Par.  Ant.  —  G.  W. 

^  The  relationship  between  sponsors  and  their  god-children,  who  were 
called  spiritual  sons  and  daughters,  was  formerly  esteemed  much  more  sacred 
than  at  present.  The  presents  at  christenings  were  sometimes  very  con- 
siderable :  the  connection  lasted  through  life,  and  was  closed  with  a  legacy. 
This  last  mark  of  attention  seems  to  have  been  thought  almost  indispen- 
sable :  for,  in  a  will  from  whence  no  extracts  have  been  given,  the  testator 
left  every  one  of  his  god-children  a  bushel  of  barley."  —  Sir  John  Cullum's 
Hist,  of  Hawsted. 

"  De  Margaretae  filias  regis  primogenitae,  quam  filiolam,  quia  ejus  in  bap- 
tismo  compater  fuit,  appellat,  cyphum  aureum  et  quadraginta  libras,  legavit." 
Archbishop  Parker  de  Antiqtdtate  Eccles.  Brit.,  speaking  of  Archbishop 
Morton.  — Q.  W. 

^°  De  Fresne  is  copious  on  caligae  of  several  sorts,  "  Hoc  item  de  Clericis, 
presertim  beneficiatis  :  caligis  scacatis  (chequered)  rubeis,  et  viridibus  pub- 
lice  utentibus  dicimus  esse  censendum."  —  Stattit.  Eccles.  Tiitel.  The  cheq- 
uered boots  seem  to  be  the  highland  plaid  stockings.  —  "  Burnetum, /.^. 
Brunetum,  pannus  non  ex  lana  nativi  coloris  confectus."  — "  Sotularium, 
i.e.  subtalaris,  quia  sub  talo  est.  Peculium  genus,  quibus  maxime  Monachi 
nocte  utebantur  in  aestate  ;  in  hyeme  vero  Soccis." 

This  writer  gives  many  quotations  concerning  Sotularia,  which  were  not 
to  be  made  too  shapely ;  nor  were  the  caligae  to  be  laced  on  too  nicely. 
—  G.  W. 

11  "Men  abhorred  the  offering  of  the  Lord." — i  Sam.  ii.  17.  Strange 
as  this  account  may  appear  to  modern  delicacy,  the  author,  when  first  in 
orders,  twice  met  with  similar  circumstances  attending  the  sacrament  at  two 
churches  belonging  to  two  obscure  villages.  In  the  first  he  found  the  inside 
of  the  chalice  covered  with  birds'  dung;  and  in  the  other  the  communion 
cloth  soiled  with  cabbage  and  the  greasy  drippings  of  a  gammon  of  bacon. 
The  good  dame  at  the  great  farmhouse,  who  was  to  furnish  the  cloth, 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  289 

being  a  notable  woman,  thought  it  best  to  save  her  clean  linen,  and  so  sent 

a  foul  cloth  that  had  covered  her  own  table  for  two  or  three  Sundays 

before. 

^^  .     .     .     "  ne  turpe  toral,  ne  sordida  mappa 

Corruget  nares  :  ne  non  et  cantharus,  et  lanx 

Ostendat  tibi  te."  — G.  W. 


LETTER   XV 

Though  Bishop  Wykeham  appears  somewhat  stern  and 
rigid  in  his  visitatorial  character  towards  the  Priory  of  Sel- 
borne,  yet  he  was  on  the  whole  a  liberal  friend  and  benefactor 
to  that  convent,  which,  like  every  society  or  individual  that 
fell  in  his  way,  partook  of  the  generosity  and  benevolence  of 
that  munificent  prelate. 

"In  the  year  1377  William  of  Wykeham,  out  of  his  mere 
good  will  and  liberality,  discharged  the  whole  debts  of  the 
prior  and  convent  of  Selborne,  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred 
and  ten  marks  eleven  shillings  and  sixpence ;  ^  and,  a  few 
years  before  he  died,  he  made  a  free  gift  of  one  hundred  marks 
to  the  same  Priory :  on  which  account  the  prior  and  convent 
voluntarily  engaged  for  the  celebration  of  two  masses  a  day 
by  two  canons  of  the  convent  for  ten  years,  for  the  bishop's 
welfare,  if  he  should  live  so  long  ;  and  for  his  soul  if  he  should 
die  before  the  expiration  of  this  term."  ^ 

At  this  distance  of  time  it  seems  a  matter  of  great  wonder 
to  us  how  these  societies,  so  nobly  endowed,  and  whose  mem- 
bers were  exempt  by  their  very  institution  from  every  means 
of  personal  and  family  expense,  could  possibly  run  in  debt 
without  squandering  their  revenues  in  a  manner  incompatible 
with  their  function. 

Religious  houses  might  sometimes  be  distressed  in  their  rev- 
enues by  fires  among  their  buildings  or  large  dilapidations  from 
storms,  etc. ;  but  no  such  accident  appears  to  have  befallen 
the  Priory  of  Selborne.  Those  situate  on  public  roads,  or  in 
great  towns  where  there  were  shrines  of  saints,  were  liable 
to  be  intruded  on  by  travellers,  devotees,  and  pilgrims ;  and 
were  subject  to  the  importunity  of  the  poor,  who  swarmed  at 
their  gates  to  partake  of  doles  and  broken  victuals.  Of  these 
20 


290  WHITE 

disadvantages  some  convents  used  to  complain,  and  especially" 
those  at  Canterbury ;  but  this  Priory,  from  its  sequestered 
situation,  could  seldom  be  subject  to  either  of  these  inconven- 
iences, and  therefore  we  must  attribute  its  frequent  debts 
and  embarrassments,  well  endowed  as  it  was,  to  the  bad  con- 
duct of  its  members,  and  a  general  inattention  to  the  interests 

of  the  institution. 

Notes 

1  Yet  in  ten  years'  time  we  find,  by  the  "  Notabilis  Visitatio,"  that  all 
their  relics,  plate,  vestments,  title-deeds,  etc.,  were  in  pawn.  —  G.  W. 

2  Lowth's  "  Life  of  Wykeham."  — G.  W. 


LETTER   XVI 

Beaufort  was  bishop  of  Winchester  from  1405  to  1447 ; 
and  yet,  notwithstanding  this  long  episcopate,  only  torn.  i.  of 
Beaufort's  "  Register  "  is  to  be  found.  This  loss  is  much  to 
be  regretted,  as  it  must  unavoidably  make  a  gap  in  the  history 
of  Selborne  Priory,  and  perhaps  in  the  list  of  its  priors. 

In  1410  there  was  an  election  for  a  prior,  and  again  in  141 1. 

In  Vol.  I.,  p.  24,  of  Beaufort's  "  Register,"  is  the  instrument 
of  the  election  of  John  Wynchestre  to  be  prior  —  the  sub- 
stance as  follows :  — 

Richard  Elstede,  senior  canon,  signifies  to  the  bishop  that 
brother  Thomas  Weston,  the  late  prior,  died  October  i8th, 
1410,  and  was  buried  November  nth.  That  the  bishop's 
license  to  elect  having  been  obtained  he  and  the  whole  con- 
vent met  in  the  chapter-house,  on  the  same  day  about  the  hour 
of  vespers,  to  consider  of  the  election ;  that  brother  John  Wyn- 
chestre, then  sub-prior,  with  the  general  consent,  appointed 
the  1 2th  November,  ad  horani  ejiisdem  did  capitularefn,  for 
the  business ;  when  they  met  in  the  chapter-house,  post  mis- 
sain  de  sancto  Spiritii,  solemnly  celebrated  in  the  church  ;  — 
to  wit,  Richard  Elstede,  Thomas  Halyborne,  John  Lemyng- 
ton,  sacrista ;  John  Stepe,  cantor ;  Walter  Ff arnham,  Richard 
Putworth,  celerarius ;  Hugh  London,  Henry  Brampton,  alias 
Brompton ;  John  Wynchestre,  senior,  John  Wynchestre,  jun- 
ior; then  "Proposito  primitis  verbo  Dei,"  and  then  hymno 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  291 

"Veni  Creator  Spiritus  "  being  solemnly  sung,  cum  "versi- 
culo  et  oratione,"  as  usual,  and  his  letter  of  license,  with  the 
appointment  of  the  hour  and  place  of  election  being  read,  alta 
voce,  in  valvis  of  the  chapter-house  ;  John  Wynchestre,  senior, 
the  sub-prior,  in  his  own  behalf  and  that  of  all  the  canons, 
and  by  their  mandate,  "  quasdam  monicionem  et  protestacio- 
nem  in  scriptis  redactas  fecit,  legit,  interposuit"  —  that  all 
persons  disqualified,  or  not  having  right  to  be  present,  should 
immediately  withdraw,  and  protesting  against  their  voting, 
etc. ;  that  then  having  read  the  constitution  of  the  general 
council  "  Quia  propter,"  and  explained  the  modes  of  proceed- 
ing to  election,  they  agreed  unanimously  to  proceed  "  per  viam 
seu  formam  simplicis  compromissi ;  "  when  John  Wynchestre, 
sub-prior,  and  all  the  others  (the  commissaries  under-named 
excepted)  named  and  chose  brothers  Richard  Elstede,  Thomas 
Halyborne,  John  Lemyngton,  the  sacrist,  John  Stepe,  chantor, 
and  Richard  Putworth,  canons,  to  be  commissaries,  who  were 
sworn  each  to  nominate  and  elect  a  fit  person  to  be  prior,  and 
empowered  by  letters  patent  under  the  common  seal,  to  be  in 
force  only  until  the  darkness  of  the  night  of  the  same  day ; 
that  they,  or  the  greater  part  of  them,  should  elect  for  the 
whole  convent,  within  the  limited  time  from  their  own  number, 
or  from  the  rest  of  the  convent ;  that  one  of  them  should  pub- 
lish their  consent  in  common  before  the  clergy  and  people : 
they  then  all  promised  to  receive  as  prior  the  person  these 
five  canons  should  fix  on.  These  commissaries  seceded  from 
the  chapter-house  to  the  refectory  of  the  Priory,  and  were 
shut  in  with  Master  John  Penkester,  bachelor  of  laws,  and 
John  Couke  and  John  Lynne,  perpetual  vicars  of  the  parish 
churches  of  Newton  and  Selborne,  and  with  Sampson  May- 
cock,  a  public  notary,  where  they  treated  of  the  election ;  when 
they  unanimously  agreed  on  John  Wynchestre,  and  appointed 
Thomas  Halyborne  to  choose  him  in  common  for  all,  and  to 
publish  the  election  as  customary,  and  returned  long  before 
it  was  dark  to  the  chapter-house,  where  Thomas  Halyborne 
read  publicly  the  instrument  of  election ;  when  all  the  brothers, 
the  new  prior  excepted,  singing  solemnly  the  hymn  "  Te  Deum 
\2iwd2imvis,''  fecenmt  deportari  novum  electuvi,  by  some  of  the 
brothers  from  the  chapter-house  to  the  high  altar  of  the 


292  WHITE 

church ;  ^  and  the  hymn  being  sung,  dictisqiie  versiculo  et 
oratione  coiistietis  m  hac  parte,  Thomas  Halyborne,  inox  tunc 
ibidem,  before  the  clergy  and  people  of  both  sexes  solemnly 
published  the  election  in  vidgari.  Then  Richard  Elstede,  and 
the  whole  convent  by  their  proctors  and  nuncios  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  Thomas  Halyborne  and  John  Stepe,  required 
several  times  the  assent  of  the  elected ;  "  et  tandem  post 
diutinas  interpellationes,  et  deliberationes,  et  deliberationem 
providam  penes  se  habitam,  in  hac  parte  divine  nolens,  ut 
asseruit,  resistere  voluntati,"  within  the  limited  time  he  signi- 
fied his  acceptance  in  the  usual  written  form  of  words.  The 
bishop  is  then  supplicated  to  confirm  their  election,  and  do 
the  needful,  under  common  seal,  in  the  chapter-house.  No- 
vember 14th,  1410. 

The  bishop,  January  6th,  14 10,  apud  Esher  in  camera  infe- 
riori,  declared  the  election  duly  made,  and  ordered  the  new 
prior  to  be  inducted ;  for  this  the  archdeacon  of  Winchester 
was  written  to ;  "  stallumque  in  choro,  et  locum  in  capitulo 
juxta  morem  preteriti  temporis,"  to  be  assigned  to  him,  and 
everything  beside  necessary  to  be  done. 

Beaufort's  "  Register,"  Vol.  I 

P.  2.  Taxatio  spiritualis  Decanatus  de  Aulton,  Ecclesia  de 
Selebourn,  cum  Capella,  xxx  marc,  decima  xlib.  iii.  fol.  Vicaria 
de  Selebourn  non  taxatur  propter  exilitatem. 

P.  9.  Taxatio  bonorum  temporalium  religiosorum  in  Archi- 
diac.     Wynton. 

Prior  de  Selebourn  habet  meneria  de 

Bromdene  taxat.  ad xxx  s.  ii  d. 

Apud  Schete  ad xvii  s. 

P.  Selebourne  ad vi  lib. 

In  civitate  Wynton  de  reddit vi  lib.  viii  ob. 

Tannaria  sua  taxat  ad x  lib.  s. 

Sunrtma  tax.  xxxviii  lib.  xiiii  d.  ob.  Inde  decima  .  vi  lib.  s.  q.  ob. 

Note 

^  It  seems  here  as  if  the  canons  used  to  chair  their  new-elected  prior  from 
the  chapter-house  to  the  high  altar  of  their  convent  church.  In  Letter 
XXI.,  on  the  same  occasion  it  is  said  —  "et  sic  canentes  dictum  electum 
ad  majus  altare  ecclesie  deduximus,  ut  apud  nos  moris  est."  —  G.  W. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  293 

LETTER   XVII 

Information  being  sent  to  Rome  respecting  the  havoc  and 
spoil  that  was  carrying  on  among  the  revenues  and  lands  of 
the  Priory  of  Selborne,  as  we  may  suppose  by  the  bishop  of 
Winchester,  its  visitor,  Pope  Martin,^  as  soon  as  the  news 
of  these  proceedings  came  before  him,  issued  forth  a  bull,  in 
which  he  enjoins  his  commissary  immediately  to  revoke  all  the 
property  that  had  been  alienated. 

In  this  instrument  his  holiness  accuses  the  prior  and  canons 
of  having  granted  away  (they  themselves  and  their  predeces- 
sors) to  certain  clerks  and  laymen  their  tithes,  lands,  rents, 
tenements,  and  possessions,  to  some  of  them  for  their  lives,  to 
others  for  an  undue  term  of  years,  and  to  some  again  for  a 
perpetuity,  to  the  great  and  heavy  detriment  of  the  monas- 
tery; and  these  leases  were  granted,  he  continues  to  add,  under 
their  own  hands,  with  the  sanction  of  an  oath  and  the  renun- 
ciation of  all  right  and  claims,  and  under  penalties,  if  the  right 
was  not  made  good.  —  But  it  will  be  best  to  give  an  abstract 
from  the  bull. 

N.  298.  Pope  Martin's  bull  touching  the  revoking  of  cer- 
taine  things  alienated  from  the  Priory  of  Seleburne.  Pontif. 
sui  ann.  i. 

"  Martinus  Eps.  servus  servorum  Dei.  Dilecto  filio  Priori  de 
Suthvale  ^  Wyntonien,  dioc.  Salutem  &  apostolicam  ben.  Ad 
audientiam  nostram  pervenit  quam  tam  dilecti  filii  prior  et 
conventus  monasterii  de  Seleburn  per  Priorem  soliti  guber- 
nari  ordinis  S".  Augustini  Winton,  dioc.  quam  de  predeces- 
sores  eorum  decimas,  terras,  redditus,  domos,  possessiones, 
vineas,^  et  quedam  alia  bona  ad  monasterium  ipsum  spectan- 
tia,  datis  super  hoc  litteris,  interpositis  juramentis,  factis  re- 
nuntiationibus,  et  penis  adjectis,  in  gravem  ipsius  monasterii 
lesionem  nonnullis  clericis  et  laicis,  aliquibus  eorum  ad  vitam, 
quibusdam  vero  ad  non  modicum  tempus,  &  aliis  perpetuo  ad 
firmam,  vel  sub  censu  annuo  concesserunt ;  quorum  aliqui 
dicunt  super  hiis  a  sede  aplica  in  communi  forma  confirma- 
tionis  litteras  impetrasse.  Quia  vero  nostra  interest  lesis  mo- 
nasteriis  subvenire  [He  the  Pope  here  commands]  ea  ad  jus 
et  proprietatem  monasterii  studeas  legitime  revocare,"  etc. 


294  WHITE 

The  conduct  of  the  religious  had  now  for  some  time  been 
generally  bad.  Many  of  the  monastic  societies,  being  very 
opulent,  were  become  voluptuous  and  licentious,  and  had 
deviated  entirely  from  their  original  institutions.  The  laity 
saw  with  indignation  the  wealth  and  possessions  of  their  pious 
ancestors  perverted  to  the  service  of  sensuality  and  indul- 
gence, and  spent  in  gratifications  highly  unbecoming  the 
purposes  for  which  they  were  given.  A  total  disregard  to 
their  respective  rules  and  discipline  drew  on  the  monks  and 
canons  a  heavy  load  of  popular  odium.  Some  good  men 
there  were  who  endeavored  to  oppose  the  general  delin- 
quency ;  but  their  efforts  were  too  feeble  to  stem  the  torrent 
of  monastic  luxury.  As  far  back  as  the  year  1381,  Wyclif's 
principles  and  doctrines  had  made  some  progress,  were  well 
received  by  men  who  wished  for  a  reformation,  and  were 
defended  and  maintained  by  them  as  long  as  they  dared,  till 
the  bishops  and  clergy  began  to  be  so  greatly  alarmed,  that 
they  procured  an  act  to  be  passed  by  which  the  secular  arm 
was  empowered  to  support  the  corrupt  doctrines  of  the 
Church;  but  the  first  Lollard  was  not  burnt  until  the  year 
1401. 

The  wits  also  of  those  times  did  not  spare  the  gross  morals 
of  the  clergy,  but  boldly  ridiculed  their  ignorance  and  prof- 
ligacy. The  most  remarkable  of  these  were  Chaucer,  and 
his  contemporary  Robert  Langelande,  better  known  by  the 
name  of  Piers  Plowman.  The  laughable  tales  of  the  former 
are  familiar  to  almost  every  reader ;  while  the  visions  of  the 
latter  are  but  in  few  hands.  With  a  quotation  from  the 
"  Passus  Decimus"of  this  writer  I  shall  conclude  my  letter; 
not  only  on  account  of  the  remarkable  prediction  therein 
contained,  which  carries  with  it  somewhat  of  the  air  of  a 
prophecy,  but  also  as  it  seems  to  have  been  a  striking  picture 
of  monastic  insolence  and  dissipation,  and  a  specimen  of  one 
of  the  keenest  pieces  of  satire  now  perhaps  subsisting  in  any 
language,  ancient  or  modern. 

"  Now  is  religion  a  rider,  a  romer  by  streate ; 
A  leader  of  love-days,  and  a  loud  beggar ; 
A  pricker  on  a  palfrey  from  maner  to  maner, 
A  heape  of  hounds  at  his  arse,  as  he  a  lord  were. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  295 

And  but  if  his  knave  kneel,  that  shall  his  cope  bring, 
He  loureth  at  him,  and  asketh  him  who  taught  him  curtesie, 
Little  had  lords  to  done,  to  give  lands  from  her  heirs, 
To  religious  that  have  no  ruth  if  it  rain  on  her  altars. 
In  many  places  ther  they  persons  be,  by  himself  at  ease : 
Of  the  poor  have  they  no  pity,  and  that  is  her  charitie ; 
And  they  letten  hem  as  lords,  her  lands  lie  so  broad. 
And  there  shal  come  a  king,*  and  confess  you  religious ; 
And  beate  you,  as  the  bible  telleth,  for  breaking  your  rule, 
And  amend  monials,  and  monks,  and  chanons. 
And  put  hem  to  her  penaunce  ad pristinum  statum  ire.'''' 

Notes 

1  Pope  Martin  V.,  chosen  about  141 7.  He  attempted  to  reform  the 
church,  but  died  in  1431,  just  as  he  had  summoned  the  Council  of  Basil. 

—  G.  W. 

2  Should  have  been  no  doubt  Southwick,  a  priory  under  Portsdown. 

—  G.  VV. 

8  Mr.  Barrington  is  of  opinion  that  anciently  the  English  vinea  was  in 
almost  every  instance  an  orchard ;  not  perhaps  always  of  apples  merely, 
but  of  other  fruits  ;  as  cherries,  plums,  and  currants.  We  still  say  a  plum 
or  cherry  orchard.  —  See  Archceologia,  Vol.  III. 

In  the  instance  above,  the  pope's  secretary'  might  insert  vineas  merely 
because  they  were  a  species  of  cultivation  familiar  to  him  in  Italy.  —  G.  W. 

*  F.  1.  a.  "This  prediction,  although  a  probable  conclusion  concerning 
a  king  who  after  a  time  would  suppress  the  religious  houses,  is  remarkable. 
I  imagined  it  might  have  been  foisted  into  the  copies  in  the  reign  of  King 
Henry  VIII.,  but  it  is  to  be  found  in  MSS.  of  this  poem,  older  than  the 
year  1400."  —  fol.  1.  a.  b. 

"Again,  where  he.  Piers  Plowman,  alludes  to  the  Knights  Templars, 
lately  suppressed,  he  says, — 

.     .     .     "  '■  Men  of  holie  kirk 
Shall  turn  as  Templars  did ;  the  tyme  approacheth  nere.' 

"This,  I  suppose,  was  a  favorite  doctrine  in  Wyclifs  discourses." 
Warton's  Hist  of  English  Poetry^  Vol.  I.,  p.  282.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER  XVIII 

William  of  Waynflete  became  bishop  of  Winchester  in  the 
year  1447,  and  seems  to  have  pursued  the  generous  plan  of 
Wykeham  in  endeavoring  to  reform  the  Priory  of  Selborne. 

When  Waynflete  came  to  the  see  he  found  Prior  Stype,  alias 


296  WHITE 

Stepe,  still  living,  who  had  been  elected  as  long  ago  as  the  year 
1411. 

Among  my  documents  I  find  a  curious  paper  of  the  things 
put  into  the  custody  of  Peter  Bernes,  the  sacrist,  and  especially 
some  relics :  the  title  of  this  evidence  is  "  No.  50,  Indentura 
prioris  de  Selborne  quorundam  tradit  Petro  Bernes,  sacrista 
ibidem,  ann.  Hen.  VI.  .  .  .  una  cum  confiss.  ejusdem  Petri 
script."  The  occasion  of  this  catalogue,  or  list  of  effects,  being 
drawn  between  the  prior  and  sacrist,  does  not  appear,  nor  the 
date  when ;  only  that  it  happened  in  the  reign  of  Hen.  VI. 
This  transaction  probably  took  place  when  Bernes  entered  on 
his  office ;  and  there  is  the  more  reason  to  suppose  that  to  be 
the  case  because  the  list  consists  of  vestments  and  implements 
and  relics,  such  as  belonged  to  the  church  of  the  Priory  and 
fell  under  the  care  of  the  sacrist.  For  the  numerous  items  I 
shall  refer  the  curious  reader  to  the  Appendix,  and  shall  just 
mention  the  relics,  although  they  are  not  all  specified ;  and 
the  state  of  the  live-stock  of  the  monastery  at  that  juncture. 

"  Item  2.    oscillator,  argent. 

"  Item  I .  osciilatoritim  cum  osse  digiti auricular.  —  Sti.Johan- 
nis  Baptistce} 

"Item  I.    parvam  crucem  cum  V,  reliquiis. 

"Item  I.   anulum  argent,  et  deauratum  St.  Edmundi? 

"  Item  2.   osculat.  de  coper. 

"Item  I.  junctorium  St.  Ricardi^ 

"Item  I.  pecten  St.  Ricardi.'"^ 

The  staurum,  or  live-stock,  is  quite  ridiculous,  consisting  only 
of  "  2  vacce,  i  sus,  4  hoggett.  et  4  porcell."  viz.,  two  cows,  one 
sow,  four  porkers,  and  four  pigs. 

Notes 

1  How  the  convent  came  by  the  bone  of  the  little  finger  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist  does  not  appear:  probably  the  founder,  while  in  Palestine,  pur- 
chased it  among  the  Asiatics,  who  were  at  that  time  great  traders  in  relics. 
We  know  from  the  best  authority  that  as  soon  as  Herod  had  cruelly  be- 
headed that  holy  man  "his  disciples  came  and  took  up  the  body  and  buried 
it,  and  went  and  told  Jesus."  Matt.  iv.  12.  Farther  would  be  difficult  to 
say.  — G.  W. 

2  November  20th  in  the  calendar,  Edmund,  king  and  martyr,  in  the  9th 
century.  See  also  a  Sanctus  Edmundus  in  Godwin,  among  the  archbishops 
of  Canterbury,  in  the  13th  century;  his  surname  Rich,  in  1234.  —  G.  W. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  297 

'  April  3rd,  ibid.  Richard,  bishop  of  Chichester,  in  the  13th  century, 
his  surname  De  la  Wich,  in  1245. 

Junctorium.  perhaps  a  joint  or  limb  of  St.  Richard  ;  but  what  particular 
joint  the  religious  were  not  such  osteologists  as  to  specify.  This  barbarous 
word  was  not  to  be  found  in  any  dictionary  consulted  by  the  author.  —  G.  W. 

*  "  Pecten  inter  ministeria  sacra  recensetur,  quo  scil.  sacerdotes  ac  clerici, 
antequam  in  ecclesiam  procederent,  crines  pecterent.  E  quibus  coUigitur 
monachos,  tunc  temporis.  non  omnino  tonsos  fuisse."  —  Du  Fresne. 

The  author  remembers  to  have  seen  in  great  farmhouses  a  family  comb 
chained  to  a  post  for  the  use  of  the  hinds  when  they  came  in  to  their  meals. 
—  G.  W. 


LETTER   XIX 

Stepe  died  towards  the  end  of  the  year  1453,  as  we  may 
suppose  pretty  far  advanced  in  life,  having  been  prior  forty- 
four  years. 

On  the  very  day  that  the  vacancy  happened,  viz.,  January 
26th,  1453-4,  the  sub-prior  and  convent  petitioned  the  visitor 
—  "  vos  unicum  levam  en  nostrum,  et  spem  unanimiter  roga- 
mus,  quatinus  eligendum  ex  nobis  unum  confratrem  de  gremio 
nostro,  in  nostra  religione  probatum  et  expertem,  licenciam 
vestram  paternalem  cum  plena  libertate  nobis  concedere  dig- 
nemini  graciose."  —  Reg.  Waynflete,  tom.  I. 

Instead  of  the  license  requested  we  find  next  a  commission 
"  custodie  prioratus  de  Selebourne  durante  vacatione,"  ad- 
dressed to  brother  Peter  Berne,  canon  regular  of  the  Priory 
of  Selborne,  and  of  the  order  of  St.  Augustine,  appointing 
him  keeper  of  the  said  Priory,  and  empowering  him  to  collect 
and  receive  the  profits  and  revenues  and  "  alia  bona  "  of  the 
said  Priory ;  and  to  exercise  in  every  respect  the  full  power 
and  authority  of  a  prior;  but  to  be  responsible  to  the  visitor 
finally,  and  to  maintain  this  superiority  during  the  bishop's 
pleasure  only.  This  instrument  is  dated  from  the  bishop's 
manor-house  in  South wark,  March  ist,  1453-4,  and  the 
seventh  of  his  consecration. 

After  this  transaction  it  does  not  appear  that  the  chapter 
of  the  Priory  proceeded  to  any  election ;  on  the  contrary, 
we  find  that  at  six  months'  end  from  the  vacancy  the 
visitor  declared  that  a  lapse  had  taken  place  ;  and  that  there- 


298  WHITE 

fore  he  did  confer  the  priorship  on  canon  Peter  Berne  — 
"  Prioratum  vacantem  et  ad  nostram  collationem,  seu  pro- 
visionem  jure  ad  nos  in  hac  parte  per  lapsum  temporis  legitime 
devoluto  spectantem,  tibi  (sc.  P.  Berne)  de  legitime  matrimonio 
procreate,  etc.,  —  conf erimus,"  etc.  This  deed  bears  date  July 
28th,  1454.  —  Reg.  Waynflete,  tom.  I.  p.  69. 

On  February  8th,  1462,  the  visitor  issued  out  a  power  of 
sequestration  against  the  Priory  of  Selborne  on  account  of 
notorious  dilapidations  which  threatened  manifest  ruin  to  the 
roofs,  walls,  and  edifices  of  the  said  convent ;  and  appointing 
John  Hammond,  B.D.,  rector  of  the  parish  church  of  Hetlegh, 
John  Hylling,  vicar  of  the  parish  church  of  Newton  Valence, 
and  Walter  Gorfin,  inhabitant  of  the  parish  of  Selborne,  his 
sequestrators,  to  exact,  collect,  levy,  and  receive  all  the  profits 
and  revenues  of  the  said  convent :  he  adds  "  ac  ea  sub  arcto, 
et  tuto  custodiatis,  custodirive  faciatis ;  "  as  they  would  answer 
it  to  the  bishop  at  their  peril. 

In  consequence  of  these  proceedings  Prior  Berne,  on  the  last 
day  of  February,  and  the  next  year,  produced  a  state  of  the 
revenues  of  the  Priory,  No.  381,  called  "A  paper  conteyning 
the  value  of  the  manors  and  lands  pertayning  to  the  Priory  of 
Selborne,  4  Edward  III.,  with  a  note  of  charges  yssuing  out 
of  it." 

This  is  a  curious  document,  and  will  appear  in  the  Appendix. 
From  circumstances  in  this  paper  it  is  plain  that  the  seques- 
tration produced  good  effect ;  for  in  it  are  to  be  found  bills  of 
repairs  to  a  considerable  amount. 

By  this  evidence  also  it  appears  that  there  were  at  that 
juncture  only  four  canons  at  the  Priory ;  ^  and  that  these,  and 
their  four  household  servants,  during  this  sequestration  for 
their  clothing,  wages,  and  diet,  were  allowed  per  annum  xxx 
lib. ;  and  that  the  annual  pension  of  the  lord  prior,  reside  where 
he  would,  was  to  be  x  lib. 

In  the  year  1468,  Prior  Berne,  probably  wearied  out  by  the 
dissensions  and  want  of  order  that  prevailed  in  the  convent, 
resigned  his  priorship  into  the  hands  of  the  bishop.  —  Reg. 
Waynflete,  tom.  I.,  pars  i™'.,  fol.  157. 

March  28th,  a.d.  1468.  "  In  quadam  alta  camera  juxta  mag- 
nam  portam  manerii  of  the  Bishop  of  Wynton  de  Waltham 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  299 

coram  eodem  rev.  patre  ibidem  tunc  sedente,  Peter  Berne, 
prior  of  Selborne,  ipsum  prioratum  in  sacras,  et  vcnerabiles 
manus  of  the  bishop,  viva  voce  libere  resignavit :  and  his 
resignation  was  admitted  before  two  witnesses  and  a  notary- 
public.  In  consequence,  March  29th,  before  the  bishop,  in 
capella  manerii  sui  ante  dicti  pro  tribunali  sedente,  comparu- 
erunt  fratres  "  Peter  Berne,  Thomas  London,  William  Wyn- 
desor,  and  William  Paynell,  alias  Stretford,  canons  regular  of 
the  Priory,  "capitulum,  et  conventum  ejusdem  ecclesie  faci- 
entes;  ac  jus  et  voces  in  electione  futura  prioris  dicti  prioratus 
solum  et  in  solidum,  ut  asseruerunt,  habentes  ;  "  and  after  the 
bishop  had  notified  to  them  the  vacancy  of  a  prior,  with  his 
free  license  to  elect,  deliberated  awhile,  and  then,  by  way  of 
compromise,  as  they  affirmed,  unanimously  transferred  their 
right  of  election  to  the  bishop,  before  witnesses.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  the  bishop,  after  full  deliberation,  proceeded, 
April  7th,  "in  capella  manerii  suide  Waltham,"  to  the  election 
of  a  prior ;  "  et  fratrem  Johannem  Morton,  priorem  ecclesie 
conventualis  de  Reygate  dicti  ordinis  S".  Augustini  Wynton. 
dioc.  in  priorem  vice  et  nomine  omnium  et  singulorum  canoni- 
corum  predictorum  elegit,  in  ordine  sacerdotali,  et  etate  licita 
constitutum,  etc."  And  on  the  same  day,  in  the  same  place, 
and  before  the  same  witnesses,  John  Morton  resigned  to  the 
bishop  the  priorship  of  Reygate  viva  voce.  The  bishop  then 
required  his  consent  to  his  own  election :  "  qui  licet  in  parte 
renitens  tanti  reverendi  patris  se  confirmans,"  obeyed,  and 
signified  his  consent  oraculo  vive  vocis.  Then  was  there  a 
mandate  citing  any  one  who  would  gainsay  the  said  election 
to  appear  before  the  bishop  or  his  commissary  in  his  chapel 
at  Farnham  on  the  second  day  of  May  next.  The  dean  of  the 
deanery  of  Aulton  then  appeared  before  the  chancellor,  his 
commissary,  and  returned  the  citation  or  mandate  dated  April 
22nd,  1468,  with  signification,  in  writing,  of  his  having  pub- 
lished it  as  required,  dated  Newton  Valence,  May  ist,  1468. 
This  certificate  being  read,  the  four  canons  of  Selborne  ap- 
peared and  required  the  election  to  be  confirmed  ;  et  ex  super 
abundanti  appointed  William  Long  their  proctor  to  solicit  in 
their  name  that  he  might  be  canonically  confirmed.  John 
Morton  also  appeared,  and  proclamation  was  made ;  and  no 


300  WHITE 

one  appearing  against  him,  the  commissary  pronounced  all 
absentees  contumacious,  and  precluded  them  from  objecting 
at  any  other  time  ;  and,  at  the  instance  of  John  Morton  and 
the  proctor,  confirmed  the  election  by  his  decree,  and  directed 
his  mandate  to  the  rector  of  Hedley  and  the  vicar  of  Newton 
Valence  to  install  him  in  the  usual  form. 

Thus,  for  the  first  time,  was  a  person,  a  stranger  to  the 
convent  of  Selborne,  and  never  canon  of  that  monastery, 
elected  prior ;  though  the  style  of  the  petitions  in  former 
elections  used  to  run  thus,  — "  Vos  .  .  .  rogamus  quatinus 
eligendum  ex  nobis  unum  cojifratrem  de  gremio  nostra,  —  li- 
centiam  vestram,  —  nobis  concedere  dignemini." 

Note 

^  If  Bishop  Wykeham  was  so  disturbed  (see  "Notab.  Visitatio")  to  find 
the  number  of  canons  reduced  from  fourteen  to  eleven,  what  would  he  have 
said  to  have  seen  it  diminished  below  one-third  of  that  number?  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XX 

Prior  Morton  dying  in  1401,  two  canons,  by  themselves, 
proceeded  to  election,  and  chose  a  prior  ;  but  two  more  (one 
of  them  Berne)  complaining  of  not  being  summoned,  objected 
to  the  proceedings  as  informal ;  till  at  last  the  matter  was 
compromised  that  the  bishop  should  again,  for  that  turn,  nom- 
inate as  he  had  before.  But  the  circumstances  of  this  elec- 
tion will  be  best  explained  by  the  following  extract :  — 

Reg.  Waynflete,  tom.  II.,  pars  I"'^,  fol.  7 
Memorandum,     a.d.  1471.     August  22nd 

William  Wyndesor,  a  canon  regular  of  the  Priory  of  Sel- 
borne, having  been  elected  prior  on  the  death  of  brother  John, 
appeared  in  person  before  the  bishop  in  his  chapel  at  South 
Waltham.  He  was  attended  on  this  occasion  by  Thomas 
London  and  John  Bromesgrove,  canons,  who  had  elected  him. 
Peter  Berne  and  William  Stratfeld,  canons,  also  presented 
themselves  at  the  same  time,  complaining  that  in  this  busi- 
ness they  had  been  overlooked,  and  not  summoned  ;  and  that 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  3OI 

therefore  the  validity  of  the  election  might  with  reason  be 
called  in  question,  and  quarrels  and  dissensions  might  prob- 
ably arise  between  the  newly  chosen  prior  and  the  parties 
thus  neglected. 

After  some  altercation  and  dispute  they  all  came  to  an 
agreement  with  the  new  prior,  that  what  had  been  done  should 
be  rejected  and  annulled  ;  and  that  they  would  again,  for  this 
turn,  transfer  to  the  bishop  their  power  to  elect,  order,  and 
provide  them  another  prior,  whom  they  promised  unanimously 
to  admit. 

The  bishop  accepted  of  this  offer  before  witnesses ;  and  on 
September  27th,  in  an  inner  chamber  near  the  chapel  above- 
mentioned,  after  full  deliberation,  chose  brother  Thomas 
Fairwise,  vicar  of  Somborne,  a  canon  regular  of  St.  Augus- 
tine in  the  Priory  of  Bruscough,  in  the  diocese  of  Coventry 
and  Litchfield,  to  be  prior  of  Selborne.  The  form  is  nearly 
as  above  in  the  last  election.  The  canons  are  again  enumer- 
ated ;  W.  Wyndesor,  sub-prior,  P.  Berne,  T.  London,  W.  Strat- 
feld,  J.  Bromesgrove,  who  had  formed  the  chapter,  and  had 
requested  and  obtained  license  to  elect,  but  had  unanimously 
conferred  their  power  on  the  bishop.  In  consequence  of  this 
proceeding,  the  bishop  taking  the  business  upon  himself,  that 
the  Priory  might  not  suffer  detriment  for  want  of  a  governor, 
appoints  the  aforesaid  T.  Fairwise  to  be  prior.  A  citation  was 
ordered  as  above  for  gainsayers  to  appear  October  4th,  before 
the  bishop  or  his  commissaries  at  South  Waltham  ;  but  none 
appearing,  the  commissaries  admitted  the  said  Thomas,  or- 
dered him  to  be  installed,  and  sent  the  usual  letter  to  the  con- 
vent to  render  him  due  obedience. 

Thus  did  the  bishop  of  Winchester  a  second  time  appoint  a 
stranger  to  be  prior  of  Selborne,  instead  of  one  chosen  out  of 
the  chapter.  For  this  seeming  irregularity  the  visitor  had  no 
doubt  good  and  sufficient  reasons,  as  probably  may  appear 
hereafter. 


LETTER   XXI 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  abilities  and  disposition  of 
Prior  Fairwise,  it  could  not  have  been  in  his  power  to  have 


302  WHITE 

brought  about  any  material  reformation  in  the  Priory  of  Sel- 
borne,  because  he  departed  this  life  in  the  month  of  August, 
1472,  before  he  had  presided  one  twelvemonth. 

As  soon  as  their  governor  was  buried  the  chapter  applied  to 
their  visitor  for  leave  to  choose  a  new  prior,  which  being 
granted,  after  deliberating  for  a  time  they  proceeded  to  an 
election  by  a  scrutiny.  But  as  this  mode  of  voting  has  not  been 
described  but  by  the  mere  form  in  the  Appendix,  an  extract 
from  the  bishop's  register,  representing  the  manner  more  fully, 
may  not  be  disagreeable  to  several  readers. 

Wayneflete  Reg.  torn.  II.,  pars  i"\,  fol.  15 

"Reverendo,  etc.,  ac  nostro  patrono  graciosissimo  vestri 
humiles,  et  devote  obedientie  filii,"  etc. 

To  the  right  reverend  Father  in  God,  and  our  most  gracious 
patron,  we,  your  obedient  and  devoted  sons,  William  Wyndesor, 
president  of  the  chapter  of  the  Priory  of  Selborne,  and  the  con- 
vent of  that  place,  do  make  known  to  your  lordship,  that  our 
priorship  being  lately  vacant  by  the  death  of  Thomas  Fairwise, 
our  late  prior,  who  died  August  nth,  1472,  having  committed 
his  body  to  decent  sepulture,  and  having  requested,  according 
to  custom,  leave  to  elect  another,  and  having  obtained  it  under 
your  seal,  we,  William  Wyndesor,  president  of  the  convent  on 
the  29th  August,  in  our  chapter-house  assembled,  and  making 
a  chapter,  taking  to  us  in  this  business  Richard  ap  Jenkyn,  and 
Galfrid  Bryan,  chaplains,  that  our  said  priory  might  not  by 
means  of  this  vacancy  incur  harm  or  loss,  unanimously  agreed 
on  August  the  last  for  the  day  of  election  ;  on  which  day,  hav- 
ing first  celebrated  mass,  "  De  sancto  spiritu,"  at  the  high  altar, 
and  having  called  a  chapter  by  tolling  a  bell  about  ten  o'  the 
clock,  we,  William  Wyndesor,  president,  Peter  Berne,  Thomas 
London,  and  William  Stratfeld,  canons,  who  alone  had  voices, 
being  the  only  canons,  about  ten  o'  the  clock,  first  sung  "  Veni 
Creator,"  the  letters  and  license  being  read  in  the  presence 
of  many  persons  there.  Then  William  Wyndesor,  in  his  own 
name,  and  that  of  all  the  canons,  made  solemn  proclamation, 
enjoining  all  who  had  no  right  to  vote  to  depart  out  of  the 
chapter-house.  When  all  were  withdrawn  except  Guyllery  de 
Lacuna,  in  decretis  Baccalarius,  and  Robert  Peverell,  notary 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  303 

public,  and  also  the  two  chaplains,  the  first  was  requested  to 
stay,  that  he  might  direct  and  inform  us  in  the  mode  of  elec- 
tion ;  the  other,  that  he  might  record  and  attest  the  transac- 
tions ;  and  the  two  last  that  they  might  be  witness  to  them. 

Then,  having  read  the  constitution  of  the  general  council 
"  Quia  propter,"  and  the  forms  of  elections  contained  in  it 
being  sufficiently  explained  to  them  by  De  Lacuna,  as  well  in 
Latin  as  the  vulgar  tongue,  and  having  deliberated  in  what 
mode  to  proceed  in  this  election,  they  resolved  on  that  of 
scrutiny.  Three  of  the  canons,  Wyndesor,  Berne,  and  London, 
were  made  scrutators  ;  Berne,  London,  and  Stratfeld,  choosing 
Wyndesor;  Wyndesor,  London,  and  Stratfeld  choosing  Berne ; 
Wyndesor,  Berne,  and  Stratfeld  choosing  London. 

They  were  empowered  to  take  each  other's  vote,  and  then 
that  of  Stratfeld  ;  "  et  ad  inferiorem  partem  angularem  "  of  the 
chapter-house,  "juxta  ostium  ejusdem  declinentes,"  with  the 
other  persons  (except  Stratfeld,  who  stayed  behind),  proceeded 
to  voting,  two  swearing,  and  taking  the  voice  of  the  third,  in 
succession,  privately.  Wyndesor  voted  first ;  "  Ego  credo 
Petrum  Berne  meliorem  et  utiliorem  ad  regimen  istius  ecclesie, 
et  in  ipsum  consentio,  ac  eum  nomino,"  etc.  Berne  was  next 
sworn,  and  in  like  manner  nominated  Wyndesor ;  London  nom- 
inated Berne ;  Stratfeld  was  then  called  and  sworn,  and  nomi- 
nated Berne. 

"  Quibus  in  scriptis  redactis,"  by  the  notary  public,  they 
returned  to  the  upper  part  of  the  chapter-house,  where  by 
Wyndesor  "sic  purecta  fecerunt  in  communi,"  and  then  sol- 
emnly, in  form  written,  declared  the  election  of  Berne ;  when 
all,  "  antedicto  nostro  electo  excepto,  approbantes  et  ratifi- 
cantes,  cepimus  decantare  solemniter  'Tc  Daan  laiidamus,'  et 
sic  canentes  dictum  electum  ad  majusaltare  ecclesie  deduximus, 
ut  apud  nos  est  moris.  Then  Wyndesor  electionem  clero  et 
populo  infra  chorum  dicte  ecclesie  congregatis  publicavit,  et 
personam  electi  publice  et  personaliter  ostendit."  We  then 
returned  to  the  chapter-house,  except  our  prior  ;  and  Wyndesor 
was  appointed  by  the  other  two  their  proctor,  to  desire  the 
assent  of  the  elected,  and  to  notify  what  had  been  done  to  the 
bishop  ;  and  to  desire  him  to  confirm  the  election,  and  do  what- 
ever else  was  necessary.     Then  their  proctor,  before  the  wit- 


304  WHITE 

nesses,  required  Berne's  assent  in  the  chapter-house ;  "  qui 
quidem  instanciis  et  precibus  multiplicatis  devictus,"  consented, 
"licet  indignus  electus,"  in  writing.  They  therefore  request 
the  bishop's  confirmation  of  their  election  "  sic  canonice  et  so- 
lemniter  celebrata,"  etc.,  etc.  Sealed  with  their  common  seal, 
and  subscribed  and  attested  by  the  notary.  Dat.  in  the  chapter- 
house September  5th,  1472. 

In  consequence,  September  nth,  1472,  in  the  bishop's 
chapel  at  Esher,  and  before  the  bishop's  commissary,  appeared 
W.  Wyndesor,  and  exhibited  the  above  instrument,  and  a 
mandate  from  the  bishop  for  the  appearance  of  gainsayers  of 
the  election  there  on  that  day ;  —  and  no  one  appearing,  the 
absentees  were  declared  contumacious  and  the  election  con- 
firmed ;  and  the  vicar  of  Aulton  was  directed  to  induct  and 
install  the  prior  in  the  usual  manner. 

Thus  did  Canon  Berne,  though  advanced  in  years,  reassume 
his  abdicated  priorship  for  the  second  time,  to  the  no  small 
satisfaction,  as  it  may  seem,  of  the  bishop  of  Winchester,  who 
professed,  as  will  be  shown  not  long  hence,  a  high  opinion  of 
his  abilities  and  integrity. 


LETTER  XXII 

As  Prior  Berne,  when  chosen  in  1454,  held  his  priorship 
only  to  1468,  and  then  made  a  voluntary  resignation,  wearied 
and  disgusted,  as  we  may  conclude,  by  the  disorder  that  pre- 
vailed in  his  convent ;  it  is  no  matter  of  wonder  that,  when 
re-chosen  in  1472,  he  should  not  long  maintain  his  station  ;  as 
old  age  was  then  coming  fast  upon  him,  and  the  increasing 
anarchy  and  misrule  of  that  declining  institution  required  un- 
usual vigor  and  resolution  to  stem  that  torrent  of  profligacy 
which  was  hurrying  it  on  to  its  dissolution.  We  find,  accord- 
ingly, that  in  1478  he  resigned  his  dignity  again  into  the  hands 
of  the  bishop. 

Waynflete  Reg.  fol.  55 
Resignatio  Prions  de  Seleboriie 

May  14th,  1478.  Peter  Berne  resigned  the  priorship.  May 
i6th,  the  bishop  admitted  his  resignation  "in  manerio  suo  de 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  305 

Waltham,"  and  declared  the  priorship  void;  " et  priorat.  sola- 
cio  destitutum  esse;  "  and  granted  his  letters  for  proceeding 
to  a  new  election ;  when  all  the  religious,  assembled  in  the 
chapter-house,  did  transfer  their  power  under  their  seal  to  the 
bishop,  by  the  following  public  instrument :  — 

"In  Dei  nomine  Amen,"  etc.,  a.d.  1478,  Mail  19.  In  the 
chapter-house  for  the  election  of  a  prior  for  that  day,  on  the 
free  resignation  of  Peter  Berne,  having  celebrated  in  the  first 
place  mass  at  the  high  altar  "  De  spiritu  sancto,"  and  having 
called  a  chapter  by  tolling  a  bell,  ///  uioris  est ;  in  the  presence 
of  a  notary  and  witnesses  appeared  personally  Peter  Berne, 
Thomas  Ashford,  Stephen  Clydgrove,  and  John  Ashton,  pres- 
byters, and  Henry  Canwood,^  in  chapter  assembled  ;  and  after 
singing  the  hymn  "  '  Ve7ii  Creator  Spiritus^  cum  versiculo  et 
oratione  'Dens  qui  corda  ;  '  declaratque  licentia  Fundatoris  et 
patroni ;  futurum  priorem  eligendi  concessa,  et  constitutione 
consilii  generalis  que  incipit  'Quia propter'  declaratis:  viisque 
per  quas  possent  ad  banc  electionem  procedere,"  by  the  de- 
cretonun  doctorem,  whom  the  canons  had  taken  to  direct  them 
—  they  all  and  every  one  "dixerunt  et  affirmarunt  se  nolle  ad 
aliquam  viam  procedere  ;  "  — but  for  this  turn  only,  renounced 
their  right,  and  unanimously  transferred  their  power  to  the 
bishop,  the  ordinary  of  the  place,  promising  to  receive  whom 
he  should  provide ;  and  appointed  a  proctor  to  present  the 
instrument  to  the  bishop  under  their  seal ;  and  required  their 
notary  to  draw  it  up  in  due  form,  etc.,  subscribed  by  the 
notary. 

After  the  visitor  had  fully  deliberated  on  the  matter,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  choice  of  a  prior,  and  elected,  by  the  following 
instrument,  John  Sharp,  alias  Glastonbury. 


Fol.  56.     Provisio  Prioris  per  Epm. 


Willmus,  etc.,  to  our  beloved  brother  in  Christ,  John  Sharp, 
alias  Glastonbury,  Ecclesie  conventualis  de  Bruton,  of  the  order 
of  St.  Austin,  in  the  diocese  of  Bath  and  Wells,  canon  regular 
—  salutem,  etc.,  "  De  tue  circumspectionis  industria  plurimum 
confidentes,  te  virum  providum  et  discretum,  literarum  scientia, 
et  moribus  merito  commendandum,"  etc.  —  do  appoint  you 
21 


306  WHITE 

prior  —  under  our  seal.  "  Dat  in  manerio  nostro  de  Suthwal- 
tham,  May  20,"  1478,  "et  nostre  Consec.  31." 

Thus  did  the  bishop,  three  times  out  of  the  four  that  he  was 
at  liberty  to  nominate,  appoint  a  prior  from  a  distance,  a  stranger 
to  the  place,  to  govern  the  convent  of  Selborne,  hoping  by  this 
method  to  have  broken  the  cabal,  and  to  have  interrupted  that 
habit  of  mismanagement  that  had  pervaded  the  society ;  but  he 
acknowledges,  in  an  evidence  lying  before  us,  that  he  never  did 
succeed  to  his  wishes  with  respect  to  those  late  governors,  — 
"  quos  tamen  male  se  habuisse,  et  inutiliter  administrare,  et 
administrasse  usque  ad  presentia  tempora  post  debitam  inves- 
tigationem,  etc.,  invenit."  The  only  time  that  he  appointed 
from  among  the  canons,  he  made  choice  of  Peter  Berne,  for 
whom  he  had  conceived  the  greatest  esteem  and  regard. 

When  Prior  Berne  first  relinquished  his  priorship,  he  re- 
turned again  to  his  former  condition  of  canon,  in  which  he 
continued  for  some  years ;  but  when  he  was  re-chosen,  and  had 
abdicated  a  second  time,  we  find  him  in  a  forlorn  state,  and  in 
danger  of  being  reduced  to  beggary,  had  not  the  bishop  of 
Winchester  interposed  in  his  favor,  and  with  great  humanity 
insisted  on  a  provision  for  him  for  life.  The  reason  for  this 
difference  seems  to  have  been  that,  in  the  first  case,  though 
in  years,  he  might  have  been  hale  and  capable  of  taking  his 
share  in  the  duty  of  the  convent ;  in  the  second  he  was  broken 
with  age,  and  no  longer  equal  to  the  functions  of  a  canon. 

Impressed  with  this  idea,  the  bishop  very  benevolently  inter- 
ceded in  his  favor,  and  laid  his  injunctions  on  the  new-elected 
prior  in  the  following  manner :  — 

Fol.  56.  "  In  Dei  nomine  Amen.  Nos  Willmus,  etc.,  con- 
siderantes  Petrum  Berne,"  late  prior,  "in  administratione 
spiritualium  et  temporalium  prioratus  laudabiliter  vixisse  et 
rexisse  ;  ipsumque  senio  et  corporis  debilitate  confractum  ;  ne 
in  opprobrium  religionis  metidicari  cogattir  ;  —  eidem  annuam 
pensionem  a  Domino  Johanne  Sharpe,  alias  Glastonbury, 
priore  moderno,"  and  his  successors,  and,  from  the  priory  or 
church,  to  be  paid  every  year  during  his  life,  "de  voluntate  et 
ex  consensu  expressis  "  of  the  said  John  Sharp,  "  sub  ea  que 
sequitur  forma  verborum  —  assignamus  : "  — 

I  St.     That  the  said  prior  and  his  successors,  for  the  time 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  SELBORNE  307 

being,  honeste  exhibebunt  of  the  fruits  and  profits  of  the  prior- 
ship,  "  eidem  esculenta  et  poculenta,"  while  he  remained  in 
the  Priory,  "  sub  consimiH  portione  eorundem  prout  conveni- 
entur  priori,"  for  the  time  being,  ministrari  contigerit ;  and  in 
like  manner  tmi  faimdo,  whom  he  should  choose  to  wait  on 
him,  as  to  the  servientibiis  of  the  prior. 

Item.  "  Invenient  seu  exhibebunt  eidem  unam  honestam 
cameram,"  in  the  Priory,  "cum  socialibus  necessariis  seu  oppor- 
tunis  ad  eundem." 

Item.  We  will,  ordain,  etc.,  to  the  said  P.  Berne  an  annual 
pension  of  ten  marks,  from  the  revenue  of  the  Priory,  to  be 
paid  by  the  hands  of  the  prior  quarterly. 

The  bishop  decrees  farther  that  John  Sharp,  and  his  suc- 
cessors, shall  take  an  oath  to  observe  this  injunction,  and  that 
before  their  installation. 

"  Lecta  et  facta  sunt  haec  in  quodam  alto  oratorio,"  belong- 
ing to  the  bishop  at  Suthwaltham,  May  25th,  1478,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  John  Sharp,  who  gave  his  assent,  and  then  took  the 
oath  before  witnesses,  with  the  other  oaths  before  the  chan- 
cellor, who  decreed  he  should  be  inducted  and  installed,  as 
was  done  that  same  day. 

How  John  Sharp,  alias  Glastonbury,  acquitted  himself  in  his 
priorship,  and  in  what  manner  he  made  a  vacancy,  whether  by 
resignation,  or  death,  or  whether  he  was  removed  by  the  visitor, 
does  not  appear ;  we  only  find  that  sometime  in  the  year  1484 
there  was  no  prior,  and  that  the  bishop  nominated  Canon  Ash- 
ford  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

Note 

^  Here  we  see  that  all  the  canons  were  changed  in  six  years ;  and  that 
there  was  quite  a  new  chapter,  Berne  excepted,  between  1472  and  1478  ;  for, 
instead  of  Wyndesor,  London,  and  Stratfeld.  we  find  Ashford,  Clydgrove, 
Ashton,  and  Canwood,  all  new  men,  who  were  soon  gone  in  their  turn  off 
the  stage,  and  are  heard  of  no  more.  For,  in  six  years  after,  there  seem  to 
have  been  no  canons  at  all.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XXIII 

This  Thomas  Ashford  was  most  undoubtedly  the  last  prior 
of  Selborne ;  and,  therefore,  here  will  be  the  proper  place  to 


308  WHITE 

say  something  concerning  a  list  of  the  priors,  and  to  endeavor 
to  improve  that  already  given  by  others. 

At  the  end  of  Bishop  Tanner's  "  Notitia  Monastica,"  the 
folio  edition,  among  Brown  Willis's  "  Principals  of  Religious 
Houses,"  occur  the  names  of  eleven  of  the  priors  of  Selborne, 
with  dates.  But  this  list  is  imperfect,  and  particularly  at  the 
beginning;  for  though  the  Priory  was  founded  in  1232,  yet  it 
commences  with  Nich.  de  Cantia,  elected  in  1262,  so  that,  for 
the  first  thirty  years,  no  prior  is  mentioned ;  yet  there  must  have 
been  one  or  more.  We  were  in  hopes  that  the  register  of  Peter 
de  Rupibus  would  have  rectified  this  omission;  but,  when  it  was 
examined,  no  information  of  the  sort  was  to  be  found.  From 
the  year  1410  the  list  is  much  corrected  and  improved,  and  the 
reader  may  depend  on  its  being  thenceforward  very  exact. 

A  List  of  the  Priors  of  Selborne  Priory,  from  Brown 
Willis's  "Principals  of  Religious  Houses,"  with 
Additions  within  [  ]  by  the  Author 

[John  ....  was  prior,  sine  dat.y- 

Nich.  de  Cantia  el 1262 

[Peter was  prior  in 1271] 

[Richard was  prior  in 1280] 

Will.  Basing  was  prior  in 1299 

Walter  de  Insula  el.  in 1324 

[Some  difficulties  and  a  devolution;  but  the 
election  confirmed  by  Bishop  Stratford.] 

John  de  Wint<?n 1339 

Thomas  Weston 1377 

John  Winchester  [Wynchestre] 14 10 

[Elected  by  Bishop  Beaufort  "  per  viam  vel 
formam  simplicis  compromissi."] 

[John  Stype,  alias  Stepe,  in 141 1] 

Peter  Bene  [alias  Berne  or  Bernes,  appointed 
keeper,  and,  by  lapse  to  Bishop  Waynflete, 

prior]  in 1454 

[He  resigns  in  1468.] 

John  Morton  [prior  of  Reygate]  in 1468 

[The  canons  by  compromise  transfer  the  power  of 
election  to  the  bishop.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  309 

Will.  Winsor  [Wyndesor,  prior  for  a  few  days]  .     .     147 1 
[But  removed  on  account  of  an  irregular  elec- 
tion.] 
Thomas  Farvvill  [Fairwise,  vicar  of  Samborne]   .     1471 

[By  compromise  again  elected  by  the  bishop.] 
[Peter  Berne,  re-elected  by  scrutiny  in     ...     .     1472] 

[Resigns  again  in  1478.] 
John  Sharper  [Sharp],  alias  Glastonbury     .     .     .     1478 
[Canon  reg.  of  Bruton,  elected  by  the  bishop 
by  compromise.] 
[Thomas  Ashford,  canon  of   Selborne,  last  prior 
elected  by  the  bishop  of  Winchester,  some- 
time in  the  year 1484 

And  deposed  at  the  dissolution.] 

Note 

1  See,  in  Letter  XI.  of  these  Antiquities  the  reason  why  Prior  John,  .  .  . 
who  had  transactions  with  the  Knights  Templars,  is  placed  in  the  list  before 
the  year  1262.  —  G.  W. 


LETTER   XXIV 

Bishop  Waynflete's  efforts  to  continue  the  Priory  still 
proved  unsuccessful ;  and  the  convent,  without  any  canons, 
and  for  some  time  without  a  prior,  was  tending  swiftly  to  its 
dissolution. 

When  Sharp's,  alias  Glastonbury's,  priorship  ended  does  not 
appear.  The  bishop  says  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  remove 
some  priors  for  maladministration  ;  but  it  is  not  well  explained 
how  that  could  be  the  case  with  any  unless  with  Sharp,  because 
all  the  others  chosen  during  his  episcopate  died  in  their  office, 
—  viz.,  Morton  and  Fairwise,  —  Berne  only  excepted,  who  re- 
linquished twice  voluntarily,  and  was,  moreover,  approved  of 
by  Waynflete  as  a  person  of  integrity.  But  the  way  to  show 
what  ineffectual  pains  the  bishop  took,  and  what  difficulties 
he  met  with,  will  be  to  quote  the  words  of  the  libel  of  his 
proctor,  Rudolphus  Langley,  who  appeared  for  the  bishop  in 
the  process  of  the  impropriation  of  the  Priory  of  Selborne. 
The  extract  is  taken  from  an  attested  copy. 


3IO  WHITE 

"  Tlem  —  that  the  said  bishop,  dicto  prioratui  et  personis 
ejusdem  pie  compatiens,  sollicitudines  pastorales,  labores,  et 
dihgentias  gravissimas  quam  plurimas,  tam  per  se  quam  per 
suos,  pro  reformatione  premissorum  impendebat ;  et  aliquando 
illius  loci  prioribus,  propter  malam  et  inutilem  administra- 
tionem,  et  dispensationem  bonorum  predicti  prioratus,  suis 
demeritis  exigentibus,  amotis  ;  alios  priores  in  quorum  circum- 
spectione  et  diligentia  confidebat,  prefecit ;  quos  tamen  male 
se  habuisse  ac  inutiliter  administrare,  et  administrasse,  usque 
ad  presentia  tempora  post  debitam  investigationem,  &c.,  in- 
venit."  So  that  he  despaired  with  all  his  care ;  "  statum  ejus- 
dem reparare  vel  restaurare ;  et  considerata  temporis  malicia, 
et  preteritis  timendo  et  conjecturando,  futura,  de  aliqua  bona 
et  sancta  religione  ejusdem  ordinis,  &c.,  juxta  piam  intentionem 
primevi  fundatoris  ibidem  habend.  desperatur." 

William  Wainfleet,  bishop  of  Winchester,  founded  his  col- 
lege of  St.  Mary  Magdalene,  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  in 
or  about  the  year  1459;  but  the  revenues  proving  insuffi- 
cient for  so  large  and  noble  an  establishment,  the  college  sup- 
plicated the  founder  to  augment  its  income  by  putting  it  in 
possession  of  the  estates  belonging  to  the  Priory  of  Selborne, 
now  become  a  deserted  convent,  without  canons  or  prior.  The 
president  and  fellows  state  the  circumstances  of  their  numer- 
ous institutions  and  scanty  provision,  and  the  ruinous  and 
perverted  condition  of  the  Priory.  The  bishop  appoints  com- 
missaries to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  said  monastery ;  and, 
if  found  expedient,  to  confirm  the  appropriation  of  it  to  the 
college,  which  soon  after  appoints  attorneys  to  take  posses- 
sion, September  24th,  1484.  But  the  way  to  give  the  reader  a 
thorough  insight  respecting  this  transaction  will  be  to  tran- 
scribe a  farther  proportion  of  the  process  of  the  impropria- 
tion, from  the  beginning,  which  will  lay  open  the  manner  of 
proceeding  and  show  the  consent  of  the  parties. 

Impropriatio  Selborne,   1485 

"  Universis  sancte  matris  ecclesie  filiis,  &c.  Ricardus  Dei 
gratia  prior  ecclesie  conventualis  de  Novo  Loco,  &c.,^  ad  uni- 
versitatem  vestre  notitie  deducimus,  &c.,  quod  coram  nobis 
commissario  predicto  in  ecclesia  parochiali  S"  Georgii  de  Esher 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  311 

Diet.  Winton.  dioc.  3°.  die  Augusti,  a.d.  1485,  Indictione 
tertia  pontificat.  Innocenti  8  .  ann.  i™".  judicialiter  comparuit 
venerabilis  vir  Jacobus  Preston,  S.T.P.  infrascriptus,  et  exhi- 
buit  literas  comissionis — quas  quidem  per  magistrum  Thomam 
Somercotes  notarium  publicum,  &c.,  legi  fecimus,  tenorem 
sequentem  in  se  continentes."  The  same  as  in  No.  103,  but 
dated  —  "In  manerio  nostro  de  Esher,  Augusti  i  .  a.d.  1485, 
et  nostre  confec.  anno.  39."  [No.  103  is  repeated  in  a  book 
containing  the  like  process  in  the  preceding  year  by  the  same 
commissary,  in  the  parish  church  of  St.  Andrew  the  Apostle, 
at  Farnham,  Sept.  6th,  anno  1434.]  "  Post  quarum  literarum 
lecturam  —  dictus  magister  Jacobus  Preston,  quasdam  pro- 
curatorias  literas  mag.  Richardi  Mayhewe  presidentis,  ut 
asseruit,  collegii  beate  Marie  Magdalene,  &c.,  sigillo  rotundo 
communi,  &c.,  in  cera  rubea  impresso  sigillatas  realiter  ex- 
hibuit,  &c.,  et  pro  eisdem  dnis  suis  &c.,  fecit  se  partem,  ac 
nobis  supplicavit  ut  juxta  formam  in  eisdem  traditam  procedere 
dignaremur,"  &c.  After  these  proclamations  no  contradictor 
or  objector  appearing  —  "  ad  instantem  petitionem  ipsius  mag. 
Jac.  Preston,  procuratoris,  &c.,  procedendum  fore  decrevimus 
vocatis  jure  vocandis;  nee  non  mag.  Tho.  Somercotes,  &c.,  in 
actorum  nostrorum  scribam  nominavimus.  Consequenter  et 
ibidem  tunc  comparuit  magister  Michael  Clyff,  &c.,  et  exhibuit 
in  ea  parte  procuratorium  suum,"  for  the  prior  and  convent 
of  the  cathedral  of  Winton,  "  et  fecit  se  partem  pro  eisdem. 
Deinde  comperuit  coram  nobis,  &c.,  honestus  vir  Willmus  Cow- 
per,"  proctor  for  the  bishop  as  patron  of  the  Priory  of  Selborne, 
and  exhibited  his  procuratorium,  &c.  After  these  were  read 
in  the  presence  of  Clyff  and  Cowper,  "  Preston,  viva  voce," 
petitioned  the  commissary  to  annex  and  appropriate  the  Priory 
of  Selborne  to  the  college  —  "  propter  quod  f  ructus,  redditus, 
et  proventus  ejusdem  coll.  adeo  tenues  sunt,  et  exiles,  quod 
ad  sustentationem  ejus,  &c.,  non  sufficiunt."  The  commissary, 
"  ad  libellandum  et  articulandum  in  scriptis,"  —  adjourned  the 
court  to  the  5th  August,  then  to  be  held  again  in  the  parish 
church  of  Esher. 

W.  Cowper  being  then  absent,  Radulphus  Langley  appeared 
for  the  bishop,  and  was  admitted  his  proctor.  Preston  pro- 
duced his  libel  or  article  in  scriptis  for  the  union,  &c. ;  "  et 


312  WHITE 

admitti  petiit  eundem  cum  effectu  ;  cujus  libelli  tenor  sequitur. 
—  In  Dei  nomine,  Amen.  Coram  nobis  venerabili  in  Christo 
patre  Richardo,  priore,  &c.,  de  Novo  Loco,  &c.,  commissario," 
&c.  Part  of  the  College  of  Magd.  dicit.  allegat,  and  in  his 
"  scriptis  proponit,"  &c. 

^^  Imprimis  —  that  said  college  consists  of  a  president  and 
eighty  scholars,  besides  sixteen  choristers,  thirteen  servientes 
inibi  altissimo  famulantibus,  et  in  scientiis  plerisque  liberali- 
bus,  presertim  in  sacra  theologia  studentibus,  nedum  ad  ipso- 
rum  presidentis  et  scholarium  pro  presenti  et  imposterum, 
annuente  deo,  incorporandorum  in  eodem  relevamen ;  verum 
etiam  ad  omnium  et  singulorum  tam  scholarium  quam  religio- 
sorum  cujuscunque  ordinis  undequaque  illuc  confiuere  pro 
salubri  doctrina  volentium  utilitatem  multiplicem  ad  incre- 
menta  virtutis  fideique  catholice  stabilimentum.  Ita  videlicet 
quod  omnes  et  singuli  absque  personarum  seu  nationum  de- 
lectu  illuc  accedere  volentes,  lecturas  publicas  et  doctrinas 
tam  in  grammatica  in  loco  ad  collegium  contiguo,  ac  philoso- 
phiis  morali,  et  naturali  quam  in  sacra  theologia  in  eodem  col- 
legio  perpetuis  temporibus  continuandas  libere  atque  gratis 
audire  valeant  et  possint,  ad  laudem  gloriam  et  honorem  Dei, 
&c.,  extitit  fundatum  et  stabilitum." 

For  the  first  item  in  this  process  see  the  beginning  of  this 
letter.  Then  follows  item  the  second  —  "  that  the  revenues 
of  the  college  non  sufficiunt  his  diebus."  "Item  —  that  the 
premises  are  true,  &c.,  et  super  eisdem  laborarunt,  et  labo- 
rante  publica  vox  et  fama.  Unde  facta  fide  petit  pars  eorun- 
dem  that  the  priory  be  annexed  to  the  college :  ita  quod  dicto 
prioratu  vacante  liceat  iis  ex  tunc  to  take  possession,"  &c. 
This  libel,  with  the  express  consent  of  the  other  proctors,  we, 
the  commissary,  admitted,  and  appointed  the  6th  August  for 
Proctor  Preston  to  prove  the  premises. 

Preston  produced  witnesses,  W.  Gyfford,  S.T.P.,  John  Nele, 
A.M.,  John  Chapman,  chaplain,  and  Robert  Baron,  literatus, 
who  were  admitted  and  sworn,  when  the  court  was  prorogued 
to  the  6th  August;  and  the  witnesses,  on  the  same  5th  Au- 
gust, were  examined  by  the  commissary,  "in  capella  infra 
manerium  de  Esher  situata  secrete  et  singillatim."  Then 
follow  the"literae  procuratoriae :"  first  that  of  the  college, 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  313 

appointing  Preston  and  Langport  their  proctors,  dated  August 
30th,  1484;  then  that  of  the  prior  and  convent  of  the  cathe- 
dral of  Winton,  appointing  David  Husband  and  Michael 
Cleve,  dated  September  4th,  1484,  then  that  of  the  bishop, 
appointing  W.  Gyfford,  Radulphus  Langley  and  Will. 
Cowper,  dated  September  3rd,  1484.  Consec.  38°. — "  Quo 
die  adveniente  in  dicta  ecclesia  parochiali,"  appeared,  "  coram 
nobis,"  James  Preston  to  prove  the  contents  of  his  libel,  and 
exhibited  some  letters  testimonial  with  the  seal  of  the  bishop, 
and  these  were  admitted  ;  and  consequenter  Preston  produced 
two  witnesses,  viz.,  Dominum  Thomam  Ashforde,  nuper 
priorem  dicti  prioratus,  et  Willm.  Rabbys,  Hteratum,  who 
were  admitted  and  sworn,  and  examined  as  the  others,  by  the 
commissary ;  "  tunc  &  ibidem  assistente  scriba  secrete  & 
singillatim;  "  and  their  depositions  were  read  and  made  pub- 
lic, as  follows  :  — 

Mr.  W.  Gyfford,  S.T.P.,  aged  57,  of  the  state  of  Magd. 
Coll.,  etc.,  etc.,  as  before. 

Mr.  John  Nele,  aged  57,  proves  the  articles  also. 

Robert  Baron,  aged  56. 

Johannes  Chapman,  aged  35,  also  affirmed  all  the  five 
articles. 

Dompnus  Thomas  Ashforde,  aged  72  years  —  "  dicit  2'*"'". 
3*"".  4""".  articulos  in  eodem  libello  contentos,  concernentes 
statum  dicti  prioratus  de  Selbourne,  fuisse  et  esse  veros." 

W.  Rabbys,  setat  40  ann.,  agrees  with  Gyfford,  etc. 

Then  follows  the  letter  from  the  bishop,  "  in  subsidium  pro- 
bationis,"  above-mentioned — "Willmus,  &c.,  salutem,  &c., 
noverint  universitas  vestra,  quod  licet  nos  prioratui  de  Sel- 
bourne, &c.,  pie  compacientes  sollicitudines  pastorales,  labores, 
diligentias  quam  plurimas  per  nos  &  commissarios  nostros  pro 
reformatione  status  ejus  impenderimus,  justicia  id  poscente ; 
nihilominus  tamen,"  etc.,  as  in  the  article  — to  "  desperatur," 
dated  "in  manerio  nostro  de  Esher,  Aug.  3rd,  1485,  &  consec. 
39."  Then  on  the  sixth  August,  Preston,  in  the  presence  of 
the  other  proctors,  required  that  they  should  be  compelled  to 
answer;  when  they  all  allowed  the  articles,  "fuisse  &  esse 
vera ; "  and  the  commissary,  at  the  request  of  Preston,  con- 
cluded the  business,  and  appointed  Monday,  August  8th,  for 


314  WHITE 

giving  his  decree  in  the  same  church  of  Esher,  and  it  was 
that  day  read,  and  contains  a  recapitulation,  with  the  sentence 
of  union,  etc.,  witnessed  and  attested. 

As  soon  as  the  president  and  fellows  of  Magdalen  College 
had  obtained  the  decision  of  the  commissary  in  their  favor, 
they  proceeded  to  supplicate  the  pope  and  to  entreat  his 
holiness  that  he  would  give  his  sanction  to  the  sentence  of 
union.  Some  difficulties  were  started  at  Rome;  but  they 
were  surmounted  by  the  college  agent,  as  appears  by  his 
letters  from  that  city.  At  length  Pope  Innocent  VIII.,  by  a 
bulP  bearing  date  8th  June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  i486, 
and  in  the  second  year  of  his  pontificate,  confirmed  what  had 
been  done  and  suppressed  the  convent. 

Thus  fell  the  considerable  and  well-endowed  Priory  of  Sel- 
borne  after  it  had  subsisted  about  two  hundred  and  fifty-four 
years;  about  seventy-four  years  after  the  suppression  of 
priories  alien  by  Henry  V.,  and  about  fifty  years  before  the 
general  dissolution  of  monasteries  by  Henry  VIII.  The 
founder,  it  is  probable,  had  fondly  imagined  that  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  institution,  and  the  pious  motives  on  which  it  was 
established,  might  have  preserved  it  inviolate  to  the  end  of 
time — yet  it  fell  — 

"  To  teach  us  that  God  attributes  to  place 
No  sanctity,  if  none  be  thither  brought 
By  men,  who  there  frequent,  or  therein  dwell." 

—  Milton's  Paradise  Lost. 
Notes 

^  Ecclesia  Conventualis  de  Novo  Loco  was  the  monastery  afterwards 
called  the  New  Minster,  or  Abbey  of  Hyde,  in  the  city  of  Winchester. 
Should  any  intelligent  reader  wonder  to  see  that  the  prior  of  Hyde  Abbey 
was  commissary  to  the  bishop  of  Winton,  and  should  conclude  that  there 
was  a  mistake  in  titles  and  that  the  abbot  must  have  been  here  meant,  he 
will  be  pleased  to  recollect  that  this  person  was  the  second  in  rank ;  for, 
"  next  under  the  abbot,  in  every  abbey,  was  the  prior."  Pref.  to  Notit. 
Monast.^  p.  29.  Besides,  abbots  were  great  personages  and  too  high  in 
station  to  submit  to  any  office  under  the  bishop.  —  G.  W. 

2  There  is  nothing  remarkable  in  this  bull  of  Pope  Innocent,  except  the 
statement  of  the  annual  revenue  of  the  Priory  of  Selborne,  which  is  therein 
estimated  at  160  flor.  auri ;  whereas  Bishop  Godwin  sets  it  at  ^^337  15^.  (i\d. 
Now  a  florin,  so  named,  says  Camden,  because  made  by  Florentius,  was  a 
gold  coin  of  King  Edward  III.,  in  value  6j-.,  whereof  160  is  not  one-seventh 
part  of  ^337  15J.  (i\d.  —  G.  W. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  315 


LETTER   XXV 


Wainfleet  did  not  long  enjoy  the  satisfaction  arising  from 
this  new  acquisition,  but  departed  this  life  in  a  few  months 
after  he  had  effected  the  union  of  the  Priory  with  his  late 
founded  college ;  and  was  succeeded  in  the  see  of  Winchester 
by  Peter  Courtney,  sometime  towards  the  end  of  the  year 
i486. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  the  new  bishop 
released  the  president  and  fellows  of  Magdalen  College  from 
all  actions  respecting  the  Priory  of  Selborne,  and  the  Priory 
and  convent  of  St.  Swithun,  as  the  chapter  of  Winchester 
cathedral  confirmed  the  release. ^ 

N.  293.  "  Relaxatio  Petri  epi  Winton,  Ricardo  Mayew, 
Presidenti  omnium  actionum  occasione  indempnitatis  sibi 
debite  pro  unione  Prioratus  de  Selborne  dicto  collegio.  Jan. 
2,  1487,  et  translat.  anno  i°." 

N.  374.  "  Relaxatio  prioris  et  conventus  Sti.  Swithini  Win- 
ton  confirmans  relaxationem  Petri  ep.  Winton."     1487,  Jan.  13. 

Ashforde,  the  deposed  prior,  who  had  appeared  as  an  evi- 
dence for  the  impropriation  of  the  Priory,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two  years,  that  he  might  not  be  destitute  of  a  maintenance 
was  pensioned  by  the  college  to  the  day  of  his  death ;  and 
was  living  on  till  1490,  as  appears  by  his  acquittances. 

Reg.  a.  ff.  46 

"  Omnibus  Christi  fidelibus  ad  quos  presens  scriptum  per- 
venerit,  Richardus  Mayew,  presidens,  &c.,  et  scolares,  salutem 
in  Domino. 

"  Noveritis  nos  prefatos  presidentem  et  scolares,  dedisse, 
concessisse,  et  hoc  presenti  scripto  confirmasse  Thome  Ash- 
forde, capellano,  quendam  annualem  redditum  sex  librarum 
tresdecim  solidorum  et  quatuor  denariorum  bone  et  legalis 
monete  Anglie  —  ad  terminum  vite  prefati  Thome"  —  to  be 
paid  from  the  possessions  of  the  college  in  Basingstoke.  — 
"  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  sigillum  nostrum  commune  presen- 
tibus  apponimus.  Dat.  Oxon.  in  coll.  nostro  supra  dicto  primo 
die  mensis  Junii  anno  regis  Ricardi  tertii  secundo,"  viz.  1484. 


I 


3l6  WHITE 

The  college,  in  their  grant  to  Ashforde,  style  him  only  capel- 
lamis  ;  but  the  annuitant  very  naturally,  and  with  a  becoming 
dignity,  asserts  his  late  title  in  his  acquittances,  and  identifies 
himself  by  the  addition  of  the  miper priorem,  or  late  prior. 

As,  according  to  the  persuasion  of  the  times,  the  depriving 
the  founder  and  benefactors  of  the  Priory  of  their  masses  and 
services  would  have  been  deemed  the  most  impious  of  frauds, 
Bishop  Wainfleet,  having  by  statute  ordained  four  obits  for 
himself  to  be  celebrated  in  the  chapel  of  Magdalen  College, 
enjoined  in  one  of  them  a  special  collect  for  the  anniversary 
of  Peter  de  Rupibus,  with  a  particular  prayer  —  "  Dens  In- 
diilgentiarum.^ ' 

The  college  also  sent  Nicholas  Langrish,  who  had  been  a 
chantry  priest  at  Selborne,  to  celebrate  mass  for  the  souls  of 
all  that  had  been  benefactors  to  the  said  Priory  and  college, 
and  for  all  the  faithful  who  had  departed  this  life. 

N.  356.  Thomas  Knowles,  presidens,  etc.  —  "  damns  et  con- 
cedimus  Nicholao  Langrish  quandum  capellaniam,  vel  sala- 
rium,  sive  alio  quocunque  nomine  censeatur,  in  prioratu  qnon- 
dam  de  Selborne  pro  termino  40  annorum,  si  tam  diu  vixerit. 
Ubi  dictus  mag.  Nicholaus  celebrabit  pro  animabus  omnium 
benefactorum  dicti  prioratus  et  coll.  nostri,  et  omnium  fidelium 
defunctorum.  Insuper  nos,  &c.,  concedimus  eidem  ibidem  cele- 
branti  in  sustentationem  suam  quandam  annualem  pensionem 
sive  annuitatem  octo  librarum,  &c.  —  in  dicta  capella  dicti 
prioratus  —  concedimus  duas  cameras  contiguas  ex  parte  bo- 
reali  dicte  capelle,  cum  una  coqiiina,  et  cum  uno  stabulo  con- 
veniente  pro  tribus  equis,  cum  pomerio  eidem  adjacente  voc.  le 
Orcheyard  —  Preterea  26s.  8d.  per  ann.  ad  inveniendum  unum 
clericum  ad  serviendum  sibi  ad  altare,  et  aliis  negotiis  neces- 
sariis  ejus."  —  His  wood  to  be  granted  him  by  the  president 
on  the  progress.  —  He  was  not  to  absent  himself  beyond  a 
certain  time  ;  and  was  to  superintend  the  coppices,  wood,  and 
hedges. —  Dat.   5'°.   die  Julii.    an°.   Hen.  VHI".   36°."    [viz. 

1546.] 

Here  we  see  the  Priory  in  a  new  light,  reduced,  as  it  were, 
to  the  state  of  a  chantry,  without  prior  and  without  canons, 
and  attended  only  by  a  priest,  who  was  also  a  sort  of  bailiff  or 
woodman,  his  assistant  clerk,  and  his  female  cook.     Owen 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  317 

Oglethorpe,  president,  and  Magd.  Coll.  in  the  fourth  year  of 
Edward  VI.,  viz.  1551,  granted  an  annuity  of  ten  pounds  a 
a  year  for  life  to  Nich.  Langrish,  who,  from  the  preamble, 
appears  then  to  have  been  fellow  of  that  society,  but,  being 
now  superannuated  for  business,  this  pension  is  granted  him 
for  thirty  years,  if  he  should  live  so  long.  It  is  said  of  him  — 
"cum  jam  sit  provectioris  etatis  qua  mut,"  etc. 

Laurence  Stubb,  president  of  Magd.  Coll.,  leased  out  the 
Priory  lands  to  John  Sharp,  husbandman,  for  the  term  of  twenty 
years,  as  early  as  the  seventeenth  year  of  Henry  VIII.,  viz., 
1526 :  and  it  appears  that  Henry  Newlyn  had  been  in  posses- 
sion of  the  lease  before,  probably  towards  the  end  of  the  reign 
of  Henry  VII.  Sharp's  rent  was  vi".  perann.  —  Regist.  B.,p.43. 

By  an  abstract  from  a  lease  lying  before  me,  it  appears  that 
Sharp  found  a  house,  two  barns,  a  stable,  and  a  duf-house 
[dove-house]  built,  and  standing  on  the  south  side  of  the  old 
Priory,  and  late  in  the  occupation  of  Newlyn.  In  this  abstract 
also  are  to  be  seen  the  names  of  all  the  fields,  many  of  which 
continue  the  same  to  this  day.^  Of  some  of  them  I  shall  take 
notice,  where  anything  singular  occurs. 

And  here  first  we  meet  with  Paradyss  [Paradise]  mede. 
Every  convent  had  its  paradise ;  which  probably  was  an  en- 
closed orchard,  pleasantly  laid  out,  and  planted  with  fruit  trees. 
Tyle-house  grove,  so  distinguished  from  having  a  tiled  house 
near  it.^  Butt-wood  close;  here  the  servants  of  the  priory  and 
the  village  swains  exercised  themselves  with  their  long-bows, 
and  shot  at  a  mark  against  a  butt,  or  bank.^ — Cundyth  [con- 
duit] wood :  the  engrosser  of  the  lease  not  understanding  this 
name,  has  made  a  strange  barbarous  word  of  it.  Conduit  wood 
was  and  is  a  steep,  rough  cow-pasture,  lying  above  the  Priory, 
at  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  south-west.  In  the  side  of 
this  field  there  is  a  spring  of  water  that  never  fails ;  at  the 
head  of  which  a  cistern  was  built  which  communicated  with 
leaden  pipes  that  conveyed  water  to  the  monastery.  When 
this  reservoir  was  first  constructed  does  not  appear ;  we  only 
know  that  it  underwent  a  repair  in  the  episcopate  of  Bishop 
Wainfleet  about  the  year  1462.^  Whether  these  pipes  only 
conveyed  the  water  to  the  Priory  for  common  and  culinary 
purposes,  or  contributed  to  any  matters  of  ornament  and  ele- 


3l8  WHITE 

gance,  we  shall  not  pretend  to  say ;  nor  when  artists  and  me- 
chanics first  understood  anything  of  hydraulics,  and  that  water  • 
confined  in  tubes  would  rise  to  its  original  level.  There  is  a 
person  now  living  who  had  been  employed  formerly  in  digging 
for  these  pipes,  and  once  discovered  several  yards,  which  they 
sold  for  old  lead. 

There  was  also  a  plot  of  ground  called  Tan-house  garden : 
and  "Tannaria  sua,"  a  tanyard  of  their  own,  has  been  men- 
tioned in  Letter  XVI.  This  circumstance  I  just  take  notice 
of,  as  an  instance  that  monasteries  had  trades  and  occupations 
carried  on  within  themselves.^ 

Registr.  B.,  p.  112.  Here  we  find  a  lease  of  the  parsonage 
of  Selborne  to  Thomas  Sylvester  and  Miles  Arnold,  husband- 
men —  of  the  tythes  of  all  manner  of  corne  pertaining  to  the 
parsonage  —  with  the  offerings  at  the  chapel  of  Whaddon 
belonging  to  the  said  parsonage.  Dat.  June  i.  2f^.  Hen.  8'^ 
[viz.  1536.] 

As  the  chapel  of  Whaddon  has  never  been  mentioned  till 
now,  and  as  it  is  not  noticed  by  Bishop  Tanner  in  his  "  Notitia 
Monastica,"  some  more  particular  account  of  it  will  be  proper 
in  this  place.  Whaddon  was  a  chapel  of  ease  to  the  mother 
church  of  Selborne,  and  was  situated  in  the  tithing  of  Oak- 
hanger,  at  about  two  miles'  distance  from  the  village.  The 
farm  and  field  whereon  it  stood  are  still  called  Chapel  Farm  and 
Field :"  but  there  are  no  remains  or  traces  of  the  building  itself, 
the  very  foundations  having  been  destroyed  before  the  memory 
of  man.  In  the  farmyard  at  Oakhanger  we  remember  a  large 
hollow  stone,  of  a  close  substance,  which  had  been  used  as  a 
hog-trough,  but  was  then  broken.  This  stone,  tradition  said, 
had  been  the  baptismal  font  of  Whaddon  chapel.  The  chapel 
had  been  in  a  very  ruinous  state  in  old  days  ;  but  was  new 
built  at  the  instance  of  Bishop  Wainfleet,  about  the  year  1463, 
during  the  first  priorship  of  Berne,  in  consequence  of  a  seques- 
tration issued  forth  by  that  visitor  against  the  Priory  on 
account  of  notorious  and  shameful  dilapidations.* 

The  Selborne  rivulet  becomes  of  some  breadth  at  Oak- 
hanger,  and,  in  very  wet  seasons,  swells  to  a  large  flood. 
There  is  a  bridge  over  the  stream  at  this  hamlet  of  consider- 
able antiquity  and  peculiar  shape,  known  by  the  name  of  Tun- 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  319 

bridge :  it  consists  of  one  single  blunt  Gothic  arch,  so  high 
and  sharp  as  to  render  the  passage  not  very  convenient  or 
safe.  Here  was  also,  we  find,  a  bridge  in  very  early  times ; 
for  Jacobus  de  Hochangre,  the  first  benefactor  to  the  Priory 
of  Selborne,  held  his  estate  at  Hochangre  by  the  service  of 
providing  the  king  one  foot-soldier  for  forty  days,  and  by  build- 
ing this  bridge.  "  Jacobus  de  Hochangre  tenet  Hochangre  in 
com.  Southampton,  per  Serjantiam,^inveniendi  unum  valectum 
in  exercitu  Domini  regis  [scil.  Henrici  HI'".]  per  40  dies;  et 
ad  faciendum  pontem  de  Hochangre :  et  valet  per  ann.  C.  s." 
—  Blount's  "Ancient  Tenures,"  p.  84. 

A  dove-house  was  a  constant  appendant  to  a  manorial  dwell- 
ing :  of  this  convenience  more  will  be  said  hereafter. 

A  corn-mill  was  also  esteemed  a  necessary  appendage  of 
every  manor ;  and  therefore  was  to  be  expected  of  course  at 
the  Priory  of  Selborne. 

The  prior  had  secta  molendini,  or  ad  molcndimim}^  a  power 
of  compelling  his  vassals  to  bring  their  corn  to  be  ground  at 
his  mill  according  to  an  old  custom.  He  had  also,  according 
to  Bishop  Tanner,  secta  molendini  de  strete  ;  but  the  purport 
of  strete,  we  must  confess,  we  do  not  understand.  Strete,  in 
old  English,  signifies  a  road  or  highway,  as  Watling  Strete,  etc., 
therefore  the  prior  might  have  some  mill  on  a  high-road.  The 
Priory  had  only  one  mill  originally  at  Selborne  ;  but,  by  grants 
of  lands,  it  came  possessed  of  one  at  Durton,  and  one  at  Oak- 
hanger,  and  probably  some  on  its  other  several  manors.^^  The 
mill  of  the  Priory  was  in  use  within  the  memory  of  man,  and 
the  ruins  of  the  mill-house  were  standing  within  these  thirty 
years :  the  pond  and  dam  and  miller's  dwelling  still  remain. 
As  the  stream  was  apt  to  fail  in  very  dry  summers,  the  tenants 
found  their  situation  very  distressing,  for  want  of  water,  and 
so  were  forced  to  abandon  the  spot.  This  inconvenience  was 
probably  never  felt  in  old  times,  when  the  whole  district  was 
nothing  but  wood-lands :  and  yet  several  centuries  ago  there 
seem  to  have  been  two  or  three  mills  between  Well  Head  and 
the  Priory.  For  the  reason  of  this  assertion,  see  Letter  XXIX. 
to  Mr.  Barrington. 

Occasional  mention  has  been  made  of  the  many  privileges 
and  immunities  enjoyed  by  the  convent  and  its  priors;  but  a 


320  WHITE 

more  particular  state  seems  to  be  necessary.  The  author, 
therefore,  thinks  this  the  proper  place,  before  he  concludes 
these  Antiquities,  to  introduce  all  that  has  been  collected  by 
the  judicious  Bishop  Tanner,  respecting  the  Priory  and  its 
advantages,  in  his  "  Notitia  Monastica,"  a  book  now  seldom 
seen,  on  account  of  the  extravagance  of  its  price,  and  being 
but  in  few  hands  cannot  be  easily  consulted.^  He  also  adds 
a  few  of  its  many  privileges  from  other  authorities  —  the 
account  is  as  follows.  — Tanner,  p.  i66. 

Selburne 

A  priory  of  black  canons,  founded  by  the  often-mentioned 
Peter  de  Rupibus,  bishop  of  Winchester,  a.d.  1233,  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary ;  but  was  suppressed,  and 
granted  to  William  Wainfleet,  bishop  of  Winchester,  who 
made  it  part  of  the  endowment  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene  Col- 
lege in  Oxford.  The  bishops  of  Winchester  were  patrons  of 
it.  [Pat.  17,  Edward  II.]  Vide.  Mon.  Ang.,  torn  II.,  p.  343. 
"  Cartam  fundationis  ex  ipso  autographo  in  archivis  Coll. 
Magd.  Ox5n.  ubi  etiam  conservata  sunt  registra,  cartas,  rentali 
et  alia  munimenta  ad  hunc  prioratum  spectantia. 

"Extracta  quaedam  e  registro  MSS.  in  bibl.  Bodl.  —  Dod- 
worth,  vol.  89,  f.  140. 

"Cart,  antiq.  N.  N.  n.  33.  P.  P.  n.  48.  et.  71.  Q.  Q.  n.  40. 
plac.  coram  justit.  itin.  [Southampton]  20.  Hen.  rot.  25.  De 
eccl.  de  Basing  &  Basingstoke.  Plac.  de  juratis  apud  Win- 
ton.  40  Hen.  III.  rot. — Protecta  molendini  de  Strete.  Cart.  54. 
Hen.  III.  m.  3.  [De  mercatu,  &  feria  apud  Seleborne,  a  mis- 
take.] Pat.  9.  Edw.  I.  m.  —  Pat.  30.  Edw.  I.  m.  —  Pat.  33. 
Edw.  I.  p.  i.  m.  —  Pat.  35.  Edw.  I.  m.  —  Pat.  i.  Edw.  II.  p.  i. 
m.  9.  —  Pat.  5.  Edw.  II.  p.  i.  m.  21.  De  terris  in  Achanger. 
Pat.  6.  Edw.  II.  p.  i.  m.  7.  de.  eisdem.     Brev.  in  Scacc.  6.  Edw. 

II.  Pasch.  rot.  8. — Pat.  17.  Edw.  II.  p.  i.  m. — Cart.  10.  Edw. 

III.  n.  24.  Quod  terrae  suas  in  Seleburn,  Achangre,  Norton, 
Basings,  Basingstoke,  &  Nately,  sint  de  afforestatae,  and  pro 
aliis  libertatibus.  Pat.  12.  Edw.  III.  p.  3.  m.  3.  —  Pat.  10. 
Edw.  III.  p.  i.  m.  — Cart.  18.  Edw.  III.  n.  24." 

"  N.  N.  33.  Rex  concessit  quod  prior,  et  canonici  de  Sele- 
burn habeant  per  terras  suas  de  Seleburne,  Achangre,  Nor- 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  32 1 

ton,  Brompden,  Basinges,  Basingstoke,  &  Nately,  diversas 
libertates. 

"  P.  P.  48.  Quod  prior  de  Seleburne,  habeat  terras  suas 
quietas  de  vasto,  et  regardo."  —  Extracts  from  Ayloffes  Cal- 
endars of  Ancient  Charters. 

"  Placita  de  juratis  &  assis  coram  Sal5m  de  Roff,  &  sociis 
suis  justic.  itiner.  apud  Wynton  in  comitatu  Sutht. — anno 
regni  R.  Edwardi  filii  reg.  Henr.  octavo.  —  Et  Por  de  Sele- 
born  ht  in  Selebr.  fure,  thurset.  pillory,  emendasse  panis,  & 
suis."     [cerevisae.]  —  Chapter-Jiouse,  Westminster. 

"Placita  Foreste  apud  Wynt5n  in  com.  Sutham.  —  Anno 
reg.  Edwardi  octavo  coram  Rog.  de  Clifford,  &c.  Justic.  ad 
eadem  placita  audienda  et  tminand.  assigtis. 


"  Carta  Pror  de  Seleburn,  H.  Dei  gra.  rex.  angl.  &c.  Con- 
cessim,  prior,  see.  Marie  de  Seleburn.  et  canonicis  ibidem  Deo 

servient. q  ipi  et  oes  holes  sui  in  pdcis  terris  suis  et 

tenementis  manentes  sint  in  ppetum  quieti  de  sectis  Swane- 
motor.  et  omnium  alior.  placitor.  for.  et  de  espeltamentis 
canum.  et  de  omnibus  submonitoibz.  placitis  querelis  et 
exaccoibus  et  occoibz.  ad  for.  et  for.  et  viridar.  et  eor.  min- 
istros  ptinentibz."  —  Chapter-Jionse,  Westminister. 

"  Plita  Forestarum  in   com.  Sutht.  apud   Suthamton 


anno  regni  regis  Edwardi  tcii  post  consequentum  quarto  coram 
Johz  Mantvers.  &c.,  justic.  itinand.,  &c.  

"  De  hiis  qui  clamant  libtates  infra  Forestas  in  com.  Sutht. 

"  Prior  de  Selebourne  clamat  esse  quietus  erga  dnm  regem 
de  omnibus  finibus  et  amerciamentis  p  tnsgr.  et  omnibus,  ex- 
accoibe  ad  Dom.  regem  vel  hered.  suos  ptinent.  pret.  plita 
corone  reg,  

"  Item  clamat  q*^  si  aliquis  hominum  suorum  de  terris  et  ten 
p.  deliciato  suo  vitam  aut  membrum  debcat  amittere  vclfugiat, 
&  judico  stare  noluerit  vel  aliud  delictum  fecit  pro  quo  debcat 
catella  sua  amittere,  ubicuncq ;  justitia  fieri  debeat  omnia 
catella  ilia  sint  ptci  Prioris  et  successor,  suor.  Et  liceat  eidem 
priori  et  balHs  suis  ponere  se  in  seisinam  in  hujusmodi  catall. 
in  casibus  pdcis  sine  disturbacone  ballivor.  dni.  reg.  quorum- 
cunque.  

"  Item  clam,  quod  licet  aliqua  libtatum  p  dnm  regem  con- 
cessar,  pcessu  temporis  quocunq;  casu  contingente  usi  non 
22 


322  WHITE 

fuerint,  nlominus  postea  eadm  libtate  uti  possit.  Et  pdcus 
prior  quesitus  p  justic.  quo  waranto  clamat  omn.  terr.  et  ten. 
sua  in  Seleburne,  Norton,  Basynges,  Basyngestoke,  &  Nattele. 
que  prior  domus  pdte  huit  &  tenuit  X""".  die  April  anno  regni 
dni  Hen.  reg.  nue  XVIII.  imppm  effe  quieta  de  vasto  et  re- 
gardo,  et  visu  forestarior.  et  viridarior.  regardator.  et  omnium 
ministrorum  foreste."  etc.,  etc.  —  Chapter-hotise^  Westminster. 

Notes 

^  The  bishops  of  Winchester  were  patrons  of  the  Priory.  —  G.  W. 

^  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  here  that  various  names  of  tithings, 
farms,  fields,  woods,  etc.,  which  appear  in  the  ancient  deeds,  and  evidences 
of  several  centuries  standing,  are  still  preserved  in  common  use  with  little 
or  no  variation :  as  Norton,  Southington,  Durton,  Achangre,  Blackmore, 
Bradshot,  Rood,  Plestor,  etc.,  etc.  At  the  same  time  it  should  be  acknowl- 
edged that  other  places  have  entirely  lost  their  original  titles,  as  le  Buri  and 
Trucstede  in  this  village ;  and  la  Liege,  or  la  Lyge,  which  was  the  name  of 
the  original  site  of  the  Priory,  etc.  —  G.  W. 

2  Men  at  first  heaped  sods,  or  fern,  or  heath,  on  their  roofs  to  keep  off 
the  inclemencies  of  weather ;  and  then  by  degrees  laid  straw  or  haum.  The 
first  refinements  on  roofing  were  shingles,  which  are  very  ancient.  Tiles 
are  a  late  and  imperfect  covering,  and  were  not  much  in  use  till  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  first  tiled  house  at  Nottingham  was  in  1503. 
—  G.  W. 

^  There  is  also  a  Butt-close  just  at  the  back  of  the  village.  —  G.  W. 

5  N.  381.  "Clausure  terre  abbatie  ecclesie  parochiali  de  Seleburne,  ixi'. 
\\\\d.  Reparacionibus  domorum  predicti  prioratus  iiii.  lib.  xij.  Aque  conduct, 
ibidem,  xxiiirf."  —  G.  W. 

^  There  is  still  a  wood  near  the  Priory,  called  Tanner's  Wood.  —  G.  W. 

^  This  is  a  manor-farm,  at  present  the  property  of  Lord  Stawell ;  and 
belonged  probably  in  ancient  times  to  Jo.  de  Venur,  or  Venuz,  one  of  the 
first  benefactors  to  the  Priory.  —  G.  W. 

'  See  Letter  XIX.  of  these  Antiquities.  —  "  Summa  total,  solut.  de  novis 
edificationibus,  et  raparacionibus  per  idem  tempus,  ut  patet  per  comput." 

"Videlicet  de  nova  edificat.  Capelle  Marie  de  Wadden.  xiiii.  lib.  vs. 
viii.  d. — Reparacionibus  ecclesie  Prioratus,  cancellor.  et  capellar.  ecclesia- 
rum  et  capellarum  de  Selborne,  et  Estworhlam,"  etc.,  etc.  — G.  W. 

^  Sargentia,  a  sort  of  tenure  of  doing  something  for  the  king.  —  G.  W. 

1°  "  Servitium,  quo  feudatorii  grana  sua  ad  Domini  molendinum,  ibi 
molenda  perferre,  ex  consuetudine,  astringuntur."  —  G.  W. 

11  Thomas  Knowles,  president,  etc.,  ann.  Hen.  8vi.  xxiii°.  [1532]  demised 
to  J.  Whitelie  their  mills,  etc.,  for  twenty  years.  Rent  xxiiij.  mxd.  —  Ac- 
cepted Frewen,  president,  etc.,  ann.  Caroli  xv.  [viz.,  1640]  demised  to  Jo. 
Hook  and  Elizabeth  his  wife,  the  said  mills.     Rent  as  above.  —  G.  W. 

^■^  A  few  days  after  this  was  written  a  new  edition  of  this  valuable  work 
was  announced,  in  the  month  of  April  of  the  year  1787,  as  published  by 
Mr.  Nasmith.  —  G.  W. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  323 


LETTER   XXVI 

Though  the  evidences  and  documents  of  the  Priory  and 
parish  of  Selborne  are  now  at  an  end,  yet  as  the  author  has 
still  several  things  to  say  respecting  the  present  state  of  that 
convent  and  its  Grange,  and  other  matters,  he  does  not  see 
how  he  can  acquit  himself  of  the  subject  without  trespassing 
again  on  the  patience  of  the  reader  by  adding  one  supplement- 
ary letter. 

No  sooner  did  the  Priory  (perhaps  much  out  of  repair  at  the 
time)  become  an  appendage  to  the  college,  but  it  must  at  once 
have  tended  to  swift  decay.  Magdalen  College  wanted  now 
only  two  chambers  for  the  chantry  priest  and  his  assistant ; 
and  therefore  had  no  occasion  for  the  hall,  dormitory,  and 
other  spacious  apartments  belonging  to  so  large  a  foundation. 

The  roofs,  neglected,  would  soon  become  the  possession  of 
daws  and  owls  ;  and,  being  rotted  and  decayed  by  the  weather, 
would  fall  in  upon  the  floors,  so  that  all  parts  must  have 
hastened  to  speedy  dilapidation  and  a  scene  of  broken  ruins. 
Three  full  centuries  have  now  passed  since  the  dissolution  — 
a  series  of  years  that  would  craze  the  stoutest  edifices.  But, 
besides  the  slow  hand  of  time,  many  circumstances  have  con- 
tributed to  level  this  venerable  structure  with  the  ground,  of 
which  nothing  now  remains  but  one  piece  of  wall  about  ten 
feet  long  and  as  many  feet  high,  which  probably  was  a  part 
of  an  out-house.  As  early  as  the  latter  end  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  VII.,  we  find  that  a  farmhouse  and  two  barns  were 
built  to  the  south  of  the  Priory,  and  undoubtedly  out  of  its 
materials.  Avarice  again  has  much  contributed  to  the  over- 
throw of  this  stately  pile,  as  long  as  the  tenants  could  make 
money  of  its  stones  or  timbers.  Wantonness,  no  doubt,  has 
had  a  share  in  the  demolition  ;  for  boys  love  to  destroy  what 
men  venerate  and  admire.  A  remarkable  instance  of  this  pro- 
pensity the  writer  can  give  from  his  own  knowledge.  When 
a  schoolboy,  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  he  was  eye-witness, 
perhaps  a  party  concerned,  in  the  undermining  a  portion  of 
that  fine  old  ruin  at  the  north  end  of  Basingstoke  town,  well 
known  by  the  name  of  Holy  Ghost  Chapel.     Very  providen- 


324  WHITE 

tially  the  vast  fragment  which  these  thoughtless  little  engi- 
neers endeavored  to  sap  did  not  give  way  so  soon  as  might 
have  been  expected ;  but  it  fell  the  night  following,  and  with 
such  violence  that  it  shook  the  very  ground,  and,  awakening 
the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  cottages,  made  them  start 
up  in  their  beds  as  if  they  had  felt  an  earthquake.  The  mo- 
tive for  this  dangerous  attempt  does  not  so  readily  appear ; 
perhaps  the  more  danger  the  more  honor  thought  the  boys, 
and  the  notion  of  doing  some  mischief  gave  a  zest  to  the 
enterprise.     As  Dryden  says  upon  another  occasion  — 

"  It  looked  so  like  a  sin  it  pleased  the  more." 

Had  the  Priory  been  only  levelled  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  the  discerning  eye  of  an  antiquary  might  have  ascer- 
tained its  ichnography,  and  some  judicious  hand  might  have 
developed  its  dimensions.  But  besides  other  ravages,  the  very 
foundations  have  been  torn  up  for  the  repair  of  the  highways  ; 
so  that  the  site  of  this  convent  is  now  become  a  rough,  rugged 
pasture-field,  full  of  hillocks  and  pits,  choked  with  nettles  and 
dwarf  elder,  and  trampled  by  the  feet  of  the  ox  and  the  heifer. 

As  the  tenant  at  the  Priory  was  lately  digging  among  the 
foundations  for  material  to  mend  the  highways,  his  laborers 
discovered  two  large  stones,  with  which  the  farmer  was  so 
pleased  that  he  ordered  them  to  be  taken  out  whole.  One  of 
these  proved  to  be  a  large  Doric  capital,  worked  in  good  taste ; 
and  the  other  a  base  of  a  pillar,  both  formed  out  of  the  soft 
freestone  of  this  district.  These  ornaments,  from  their  dimen- 
sions, seemed  to  have  belonged  to  massive  columns,  and  show 
that  the  church  of  this  convent  was  a  large  and  costly  edifice. 
They  were  found  in  the  space  which  has  always  been  supposed 
to  have  contained  the  south  transept  of  the  priory  church. 
Some  fragments  of  large  pilasters  were  also  found  at  the 
same  time.  The  diameter  of  the  capital  was  two  feet  three 
inches  and  a  half,  and  of  the  column,  where  it  had  stood  on 
the  base,  eighteen  inches  and  three-quarters. 

Two  years  ago,  some  laborers,  digging  again  among  the 
ruins,  sounded  a  sort  of  rude  thick  vase  or  urn  of  soft  stone, 
containing  about  two  gallons  in  measure,  on  the  verge  of  the 
brook,  in  the  very  spot  which  tradition  has  always  pointed 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    SELBORNE  325 

out  as  having  been  the  site  of  the  convent  kitchen.  This 
clumsy  utensil,!  whether  intended  for  holy  water  or  whatever 
purpose,  we  were  going  to  procure,  but  found  that  the  laborers 
had  just  broken  it  in  pieces  and  carried  it  out  on  the  high- 
ways. 

The  Priory  of  Selborne  had  possessed  in  this  village  a 
grange,  an  usual  appendage  to  manorial  estates,  where  the 
fruits  of  their  lands  were  stowed  and  laid  up  for  use,  at  a  time 
when  men  took  the  natural  produce  of  their  estates  in  kind. 
The  mansion  of  this  spot  is  still  called  the  Grange,  and  is  the 
manor-house  of  the  convent  possessions  in  this  place.  The 
author  has  conversed  with  very  ancient  people  who  remem- 
bered the  old,  original  Grange,  but  it  has  long  given  place  to 
a  modern  farmhouse.  Magdalen  College  holds  a  court-leet 
and  court-baron  ^  in  the  great  wheat-barn  of  the  said  Grange, 
annually,  where  the  president  usually  superintends,  attended 
by  the  bursar  and  steward  of  the  college.^ 

The  following  uncommon  presentment  at  the  court  is  not 
unworthy  of  notice.  There  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  King's 
Field  (a  large  common  field,  so  called)  a  considerable  tumulus, 
or  hillock,  now  covered  with  thorns  and  bushes,  and  known  by 
the  name  of  Kite's  Hill,  which  is  presented,  year  by  year,  in 
court  as  not  ploughed.  Why  this  injunction  is  still  kept  up 
respecting  this  spot,  which  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  arable 
land,  may  be  a  question  not  easily  solved,  since  the  usage  has 
long  survived  the  knowledge  of  the  intention  thereof.  We 
can  only  suppose  that  as  the  prior,  besides  thurset  and  pillory, 
had  also  furcas,  a  power  of  life  and  death,  he  might  have 
reserved  this  little  eminence  as  the  place  of  execution  for  de- 
linquents. And  there  is  the  more  reason  to  suppose  so,  since 
a  spot  just  by  is  called  Gaily  (Gallows)  Hill. 

The  lower  part  of  the  village,  next  the  Grange,  in  which  is 
a  pond  and  a  stream,  is  well  known  by  the  name  of  Gracious 
Street,  an  appellation  not  at  all  understood.  There  is  a  lake 
in  Surrey,  near  Cobham,  called  also  Gracious  Pond;  and 
another,  if  we  mistake  not,  near  Hedleigh,  in  the  county  of 
Hants.  This  strange  denomination  we  do  not  at  all  compre- 
hend, and  conclude  that  it  may  be  a  corruption  from  some 
Saxon  word,  itself  perhaps  forgotten. 


326  WHITE 

It  has  been  observed  already  that  Bishop  Tanner  was  mis- 
taken when  he  refers  to  an  evidence  of  Dodsworth,  "  De  mer- 
cante  feria  de  Seleburne."  Selborne  never  had  a  chartered 
fair;  the  present  fair  was  set  up  since  the  year  1681,  by  a  set 
of  jovial  fellows  who  had  found  in  an  old  almanac  that  there 
had  been  a  fair  here  in  former  days  on  the  ist  August  and 
were  desirous  to  revive  so  joyous  a  festival.  Against  this 
innovation  the  vicar  set  his  face,  and  persisted  in  crying  it 
down,  as  the  probable  occasion  of  much  intemperance.  How- 
ever, the  fair  prevailed,  but  was  altered  to  the  29th  May, 
because  the  former  day  often  interfered  with  wheat-harvest. 
On  that  day  it  still  continues  to  be  held,  and  is  become  a 
useful  mart  for  cows  and  calves.  Most  of  the  lower  house- 
keepers brew  beer  against  this  holiday,  which  is  dutied  by 
the  exciseman,  and  their  becoming  victuallers  for  the  day 
without  a  license  is  overlooked. 

Monasteries  enjoyed  all  sorts  of  conveniences  within  them- 
selves. Thus,  at  the  Priory,  a  low  and  moist  situation,  there 
were  ponds  and  stews  for  their  fish ;  at  the  same  place  also, 
and  at  the  Grange  in  Culver  *  Croft,  there  were  dove-houses ; 
and  on  the  hill  opposite  to  the  Grange  the  prior  had  a  warren, 
as  the  names  of  the  Coneycrofts  and  Coneycroft  Hanger 
plainly  testify.^ 

Nothing  has  been  said,  as  yet,  respecting  the  tenure  or  hold- 
ing of  the  Selborne  estates.  Temple  and  Norton  are  manor 
farms  and  freeholds ;  as  is  the  manor  of  Chapel,  near  Oak- 
hanger,  and  also  the  estate  at  Oakhanger  House  and  Black- 
moor.  The  Priory  and  Grange  are  leasehold  under  Magdalen 
College,  for  twenty-one  years,  renewable  every  seven ;  all  the 
smaller  estates  in  and  round  the  village  are  copyhold  of  inheri- 
tance under  the  college,  except  the  little  remains  of  the  Gur- 
don  Manor,  which  had  been  of  old  leased  out  upon  lives,  but 
have  been  freed  of  late  by  their  present  lord,  as  fast  as  those 
lives  have  dropped. 

Selborne  seems  to  have  derived  much  of  its  prosperity  from 
the  near  neighborhood  of  the  Priory.  For  monasteries  were 
of  considerable'advantage  to  places  where  they  had  their  sites 
and  estates,  by  causing  great  resort,  by  procuring  markets  and 
fairs,  by  freeing  them  from  the  cruel  oppression  of  forest  laws, 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   SELBORNE  327 

and  by  letting  their  lands  at  easy  rates.  But,  as  soon  as  the 
convent  was  suppressed,  the  town  which  it  had  occasioned 
began  to  decline,  and  the  market  was  less  frequented ;  the 
rough  and  sequestered  situation  gave  a  check  to  resort,  and 
the  neglected  roads  rendered  it  less  and  less  accessible. 

That  it  had  been  a  considerable  place  for  size,  formerly, 
appears  from  the  largeness  of  the  church,  which  much  exceeds 
those  of  the  neighboring  villages;  by  the  ancient  extent  of  the 
burying-ground,  which,  from  human  bones  occasionally  dug 
up,  is  found  to  have  been  much  encroached  upon  ;  by  giving  a 
name  to  the  hundred;  by  the  old  foundations  and  ornamented 
stones  and  tracery  of  windows  that  have  been  discovered  on  the 
north-east  side  of  the  village  ;  and  by  the  many  vestiges  of  dis- 
used fish-ponds  still  to  be  seen  around  it.  For  ponds  and  stews 
were  multiplied  in  the  times  of  popery,  that  the  affluent  might 
enjoy  some  variety  at  their  tables  on  fast-days ;  therefore,  the 
more  they  abounded  the  better  probably  was  the  condition  of 
the  inhabitants. 

More  Particulars  respecting  the  Old  Family  Tortoise, 

OMITTED    in    the    NATURAL    HiSTORY 

Because  we  call  this  creature  an  abject  reptile,  we  are  too 
apt  to  undervalue  his  abilities  and  depreciate  his  powers  of 
instinct.     Yet  he  is,  as  Mr.  Pope  says  of  his  lord, 

.  .  .  '•  Much  too  wise  to  walk  into  a  well : " 

and  has  so  much  discernment  as  not  to  fall  down  a  ha-ha,  but 
to  stop  and  withdraw  from  the  brink  with  the  readiest  precau- 
tion. 

Though  he  loves  warm  weather  he  avoids  the  hot  sun ;  be- 
cause his  thick  shell,  when  once  heated,  would,  as  the  poet  says 
of  solid  armor,  "  scald  with  safety."  He  therefore  spends  the 
more  sultry  hours  under  the  umbrella  of  a  large  cabbage-leaf, 
or  amidst  the  waving  forest  of  an  asparagus  bed. 

But,  as  he  avoids  heat  in  the  summer,  so,  in  the  decline  of 
the  year,  he  improves  the  faint  autumnal  beams  by  getting 
within  the  reflection  of  a  fruit  wall ;  and,  though  he  never  has 
read  that  planes  inclining  to  the  horizon  receive  a  greater  share 


328  WHITE 

of  warmth,^  he  inclines  his  shell,  by  tilting  it  against  the  wall, 
to  collect  and  admit  every  feeble  ray. 

Pitiable  seems  the  condition  of  this  poor  embarrassed  rep- 
tile ;  to  be  cased  in  a  suit  of  ponderous  armor,  which  he  can- 
not lay  aside ;  to  be  imprisoned,  as  it  were,  within  his  own 
shell,  must  preclude,  we  should  suppose,  all  activity  and  dis- 
position for  enterprise.  Yet  there  is  a  season  of  the  year 
(usually  the  beginning  of  June)  when  his  exertions  are  remark- 
able. He  then  walks  on  tiptoe,  and  is  stirring  by  five  in  the 
morning ;  and,  traversing  the  garden,  examines  every  wicket 
and  interstice  in  the  fences,  through  which  he  will  escape  if 
possible ;  and  often  has  eluded  the  care  of  the  gardener,  and 
wandered  to  some  distant  field.  The  motives  that  impel  him 
to  undertake  these  rambles  seem  to  be  of  the  amorous  kind ; 
his  fancy  then  becomes  intent  on  sexual  attachments,  which 
transport  him  beyond  his  usual  gravity  and  induce  him  to  for- 
get for  a  time  his  ordinary  solemn  deportment. 

Notes 

^  A  judicious  antiquary  who  saw  this  vase  observed  that  it  possibly  might 
have  been  a  standard  measure  between  the  monastery  and  its  tenants.  The 
Priory  we  have  mentioned  claimed  the  assize  of  bread  and  beer  in  Selborne 
manor,  and  probably  the  adjustment  of  dry  measures  for  grain,  etc.  —  G.  W. 

2  The  time  when  this  court  is  held  is  the  mid-week  between  Easter  and 
Whitsuntide.  — G.  W. 

8  Owen  Oglethorpe,  president,  etc.,  an.  Edw.  Sexti,  primo  [viz.,  1547] 
demised  to  Robert  Arden  Selborne  Grange  for  twenty  years.  Rent  vi". 
Index  of  Leases.  —  G.  W . 

^  Culver,  as  has  been  observed  before,  is  Saxon  for  a  pigeon.  —  G.  W. 

^  A  warren  was  an  usual  appendage  to  a  manor.  —  G.  W. 

^  Several  years  ago  a  book  was  written  entitled  "  Fruit  Walls  Improved 
by  Inclining  them  to  the  Horizon :  "  in  which  the  author  has  shown,  by 
calculation,  that  a  much  greater  number  of  the  rays  of  the  sun  will  fall  on 
such  walls  than  on  those  which  are  perpendicular.  —  G.  W. 


OBSERVATIONS 

ON 

VARIOUS  PARTS  OF  NATURE 

FROM   MR.  WHITE'S   MSS. 
WITH   REMARKS   BY   MR.   MARKWICK 


ADVERTISEMENT 

TO    THE    8V0    EDITION,    PUBLISHED    IN    l802,    EDITED     BY   JOHN 
WHITE,    THE    BROTHER    OF    THE    AUTHOR 

"  The  favorable  reception  with  which  the  works  on  natural 
history  of  my  late  respected  relation,  the  Rev.  Gilbert  White 
of  Selborne,  have  been  honored  by  the  persons  best  qualified 
to  judge  of  their  merit,  has  induced  me  to  present  them  to 
the  public  in  a  collected  and  commodious  form,  free  from  the 
encumbrance  of  any  extraneous  matter.  His  largest  work, 
entitled  'The  Natural  History  of  Selborne,'  has  probably 
been  supposed  by  many  to  be  formed  upon  a  more  local  and 
confined  plan  than  it  really  is.  In  fact,  the  greater  part 
of  the  observations  are  applicable  to  all  that  portion  of  the 
island  in  which  he  resided,  and  were  indeed  made  in  various 
places.  Almost  the  only  matter  absolutely  local  is  the  account 
of  the  antiquities  of  the  village  of  Selborne ;  and  this  seemed 
to  stand  so  much  apart,  that,  however  well  calculated  to  gratify 
the  lovers  of  topographical  studies,  it  was  thought  that  its 
entire  omission  would  be  considered  no  loss  to  the  work,  con- 
sidered as  a  publication  on  natural  history.  Its  place  is  oc- 
cupied by  the  'Naturalists'  Calendar  and  Miscellaneous 
Observations,'  which  appeared  in  a  separate  volume  since  the 
author's  decease,  extracted  from  his  papers  by  Dr.  Aitkin. 
That  gentleman  has  also  made  some  farther  selections  from 
the  papers,  which  are  now  all  in  my  possession ;  and  has 
undertaken  the  revision  and  arrangement  of  the  whole.  A 
very  valuable  addition  to  the  calendar  and  observations  has 
been  obtained  from  the  kindness  of  William  Markwick,  Esq., 
F.L.S.,well  known  as  an  accurate  observer  of  nature,  whose 
parallel  calendar,  kept  in  the  county  of  Sussex,  is  given  upon 
the  opposite  columns. 

"The  Editor  flatters  himself  that  the   publication   in   its 

present  form  will  prove  an  acceptable  addition  to  the  library 

of  the  naturalist ;  and  will  in  particular  be  useful  in  inspiring 

young  persons,  and  those  who  pass  their  time  in  retirement, 

with  a  taste  for  the  very  pleasing  branch  of  knowledge  on 

which  it  treats.  J.  W. 

"Fleet  Street,  1802." 

330 


OBSERVATIONS   ON    BIRDS 


Birds  in  General.  —  In  severe  weather  fieldfares,  red- 
wings, skylarks,  and  titlarks  resort  to  watered  meadows  for 
food ;  the  latter  wades  up  to  its  belly  in  pursuit  of  the  pupae 
of  insects,  and  runs  along  upon  the  floating  grass  and  weeds. 
Many  gnats  are  on  the  snow  near  the  water;  these  support  the 
birds  in  part. 

Birds  are  much  influenced  in  their  choice  of  food  by  color, 
for  though  white  currants  are  a  much  sweeter  fruit  than  red, 
yet  they  seldom  touch  the  former  till  they  have  devoured  every 
bunch  of  the  latter. 

Redstarts,  fly-catchers,  and  blackcaps  arrive  early  in  April. 
If  these  little  delicate  beings  are  birds  of  passage  (as  we  have 
reason  to  suppose  they  are,  because  they  are  never  seen  in 
winter),  how  could  they,  feeble  as  they  seem,  bear  up  against 
such  storms  of  snow  and  rain,  and  make  their  way  through 
such  meteorous  turbulences,  as  one  should  suppose  would 
embarrass  and  retard  the  most  hardy  and  resolute  of  the 
winged  nation  ?  Yet  they  keep  their  appointed  times  and 
seasons ;  and  in  spite  of  frosts  and  winds  return  to  their  sta- 
tions periodically  as  if  they  had  met  with  nothing  to  obstruct 
them.  The  withdrawing  and  appearance  of  the  short-winged 
summer  birds  is  a  very  puzzling  circumstance  in  natural  history. 

When  the  boys  bring  me  wasps'  nests,  my  bantam  fowls  fare 
deliciously,  and  when  the  combs  are  pulled  to  pieces,  devour 
the  young  wasps  in  their  maggot  state  with  the  highest  glee 
and  delight.  Any  insect-eating  bird  would  do  the  same  ;  and 
therefore  I  have  often  wondered  that  the  accurate  Mr.  Ray 
should  call  one  species  of  buzzard  dutco  apivorus  sive  vespivo- 
ms,  or  the  ho7iej>  buzzard,  because  some  combs  of  wasps  hap- 

3Zi 


332  WHITE 

pened  to  be  found  in  one  of  their  nests.  The  combs  were 
conveyed  thither  doubtless  for  the  sake  of  the  maggots  or 
nymphs,  and  not  for  their  honey,  since  none  is  to  be  found  in 
the  combs  of  wasps.  Birds  of  prey  occasionally  feed  on  in- 
sects ;  thus  have  I  seen  a  tame  kite  picking  up  the  female 
ants  full  of  eggs,  with  much  satisfaction.  —  White. 

That  redstarts,  fly-catchers,  blackcaps,  and  other  slender- 
billed  insectivorous  small  birds,  particularly  the  swallow  tribe, 
make  their  first  appearance  very  early  in  the  spring,  is  a  well- 
known  fact ;  though  the  fly-catcher  is  the  latest  of  them  all  in 
its  visit  (as  this  accurate  naturalist  observes  in  another  place), 
for  it  is  never  seen  before  the  month  of  May.  If  these  deli- 
cate creatures  come  to  us  from  a  distant  country,  they  will 
probably  be  exposed  in  their  passage,  as  Mr.  White  justly 
remarks,  to  much  greater  difficulties  from  storms  and  tem- 
pests than  their  feeble  powers  appear  to  be  able  to  surmount : 
on  the  other  hand,  if  we  suppose  them  to  pass  the  winter  in  a 
dormant  state  in  this  country,  concealed  in  caverns  or  other 
hiding-places  sufficiently  guarded  from  the  extreme  cold  of 
our  winter  to  preserve  their  life,  and  that  at  the  approach  of 
spring  they  revive  from  their  torpid  state  and  reassume  their 
usual  powers  of  action,  it  will  entirely  remove  the  first  difB- 
culty  arising  from  the  storms  and  tempests  they  are  liable  to 
meet  with  in  their  passage ;  but  how  are  we  to  get  over  the 
still  greater  difficulty  of  their  revivification  from  their  torpid 
state .''  What  degree  of  warmth  in  the  temperature  of  the  air 
is  necessary  to  produce  that  effect,  and  how  it  operates  on  the 
functions  of  animal  life,  are  questions  not  easily  answered. 

How  could  Mr.  White  suppose  that  Ray  named  this  species 
the  honey  buzzard,  because  it  fed  on  honey,  when  he  not  only 
named  it  in  Latin  biiteo  apivoriis  et  vespivorus,  but  expressly 
says  that  "  it  feeds  on  insects,  and  brings  up  its  young  with 
the  maggots  or  nymphs  of  wasps  1 " 

That  birds  of  prey,  when  in  want  of  their  proper  food,  flesh, 
sometimes  feed  on  insects  I  have  little  doubt,  and  I  think  I 
have  observed  the  common  hnzzdivd,  falco  btiteo,  to  settle  on 
the  ground  and  pick  up  insects  of  some  kind  or  other.  — 
Markwick. 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   BIRDS  333 

Rooks.  —  Rooks  are  continually  fighting  and  pulling  each 
other's  nests  to  pieces  :  these  proceedings  are  inconsistent  with 
living  in  such  close  community.  And  yet  if  a  pair  offer  to 
build  on  a  single  tree,  the  nest  is  plundered  and  demolished 
at  once.  Some  rooks  roost  on  their  nest  trees.  The  twigs 
which  the  rooks  drop  in  building  supply  the  poor  with  brush- 
wood to  light  their  fires.  Some  unhappy  pairs  are  not  per- 
mitted to  finish  any  nest  till  the  rest  have  completed  their 
building.  As  soon  as  they  get  a  few  sticks  together,  a  party 
comes  and  demolishes  the  whole.  As  soon  as  rooks  have  fin- 
ished their  nests  and  before  they  lay,  the  cocks  begin  to  feed 
the  hens,  who  receive  their  bounty  with  a  fondling  tremulous 
voice  and  fluttering  wings,  and  all  the  little  blandishments  that 
are  expressed  by  the  young  while  in  a  helpless  state.  This 
gallant  deportment  of  the  males  is  continued  through  the 
whole  season  of  incubation.  These  birds  do  not  copulate  on 
trees,  nor  in  their  nests,  but  on  the  ground  in  the  open  fields. 
—  White. 

After  the  first  brood  of  rooks  is  sufficiently  fledged,  they  all 
leave  their  nest  trees  in  the  day-time,  and  resort  to  some  dis- 
tant place  in  search  of  food,  but  return  regularly  every  even- 
ing, in  vast  flights,  to  their  nest  trees,  where,  after  flying  round 
several  times  with  much  noise  and  clamor  till  they  are  all  as- 
sembled together,  they  take  up  their  abode  for  the  night.  — 
Markwick, 

Thrushes.  —  Thrushes  during  long  droughts  are  of  great 
service  in  hunting  out  shell  snails,  which  they  pull  to  pieces 
for  their  young,  and  are  thereby  very  serviceable  in  gardens. 
Missel-thrushes  do  not  destroy  the  fruit  in  gardens  like  the 
other  species  of  turdi,  but  feed  on  the  berries  of  mistletoe,  and 
in  the  spring  on  ivy  berries,  which  then  begin  to  ripen.  In  the 
summer,  when  their  young  become  fledged,  they  leave  neigh- 
borhoods and  retire  to  sheep-walks  and  wild  commons. 

The  magpies,  when  they  have  young,  destroy  the  broods  of 
missel-thrushes,  though  the  dams  are  fierce  birds  and  fight 
boldly  in  defence  of  their  nests.  It  is  probably  to  avoid  such 
insults  that  this  species  of  thrush,  though  wild  at  other  times, 


334  WHITE 

delights  to  build  near  houses  and  in  frequented  walks  and 
gardens.  —  White. 

Of  the  truth  of  this  I  have  been  an  eye-witness,  having  seen 
the  common  thrush  feeding  on  the  shell  snail. 

In  the  very  early  part  of  this  spring  (1797)  a  bird  of  this 
species  used  to  sit  every  morning  on  the  top  of  some  high 
elms  close  by  my  windows,  and  delight  me  with  its  charming 
song,  attracted  thither,  probably,  by  some  ripe  ivy  berries  that 
grew  near  the  place. 

I  have  remarked  something  like  the  latter  fact,  for  I  re- 
member, many  years  ago,  seeing  a  pair  of  these  birds  fly  up 
repeatedly  and  attack  some  larger  bird,  which  I  suppose  dis- 
turbed their  nest  in  my  orchard,  uttering  at  the  same  time 
violent  shrieks.  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  seen  more 
than  once  a  pair  of  these  birds  attack  some  magpies  that  had 
disturbed  their  nest  with  great  violence  and  loud  shrieks.  — 
Markwick. 

Poultry.  —  Many  creatures  are  endowed  with  a  ready  dis- 
cernment to  see  what  will  turn  to  their  own  advantage  and 
emolument :  and  often  discover  more  sagacity  than  could  be 
expected.  Thus  my  neighbor's  poultry  watch  for  wagons 
loaded  with  wheat,  and  running  after  them,  pick  up  a  num- 
ber of  grains  which  are  shaken  from  the  sheaves  by  the  agita- 
tion of  the  carriages.  Thus,  when  my  brother  used  to  take 
down  his  gun  to  shoot  sparrows,  his  cats  would  run  out  before 
him  to  be  ready  to  catch  up  the  birds  as  they  fell. 

The  earnest  and  early  propensity  of  gaUinse  to  roost  on  high 
is  very  observable,  and  discovers  a  strong  dread  impressed  on 
their  spirits  respecting  vermin  that  may  annoy  them  on  the 
ground  during  the  hours  of  darkness.  Hence  poultry,  if  left 
to  themselves  and  not  housed,  will  perch  the  winter  through 
on  yew-trees  and  fir-trees  ;  turkeys  and  guinea  fowls,  heavy  as 
they  are,  get  up  into  apple-trees ;  pheasants  also  in  woods 
sleep  on  trees  to  avoid  foxes ;  ^  while  peafowls  climb  to  the 
tops  of  the  highest  trees  round  their  owner's  house  for  secu- 
rity, let  the  weather  be  ever  so  cold  or  blowing.  Partridges, 
it  is  true,  roost  on  the  ground,  not  having  the  faculty  of  perch- 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   BIRDS  335 

ing;  but  then  the  same  fear  prevails  in  their  minds;  for, 
through  apprehension  from  polecats  and  stoats,  they  never 
trust  themselves  to  coverts,  but  nestle  together  in  the  midst 
of  large  fields,  far  removed  from  hedges  and  coppices,  which 
they  love  to  haunt  in  the  day,  and  where  at  that  season  they 
can  skulk  more  secure  from  the  ravages  of  rapacious  birds. 

As  to  ducks  and  geese,  their  awkward  splay  web-feet  forbid 
them  to  settle  on  trees :  they  therefore,  in  the  hours  of  dark- 
ness and  danger,  betake  themselves  to  their  own  element,  the 
water,  where  amidst  large  lakes  and  pools,  like  ships  riding 
at  anchor,  they  float  the  whole  night  long  in  peace  and  security. 
—  White. 

Guinea  fowls  not  only  roost  on  high,  but  in  hard  weather 
resort,  even  in  the  day-time,  to  the  very  tops  of  the  highest 
trees.  Last  winter,  when  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow, 
I  discovered  all  my  guinea  fowls,  in  the  middle  of  the  day, 
sitting  on  the  highest  boughs  of  some  very  tall  elms,  chatter- 
ing and  making  a  great  clamor :  I  ordered  them  to  be  driven 
down  lest  they  should  be  frozen  to  death  in  so  elevated  a 
situation,  but  this  was  not  effected  without  much  difficulty ; 
they  being  very  unwilling  to  quit  their  lofty  abode,  notwith- 
standing one  of  them  had  its  feet  so  much  frozen  that  we  were 
obliged  to  kill  it.  I  know  not  how  to  account  for  this,  unless 
it  was  occasioned  by  their  aversion  to  the  snow  on  the  ground, 
they  being  birds  that  come  originally  from  a  hot  climate. 

Notwithstanding  the  awkward  splay  web-feet  (as  Mr.  White 
calls  them)  of  the  duck  genus,  some  of  the  foreign  species 
have  the  power  of  settling  on  the  boughs  of  trees  apparently 
with  great  ease  ;  an  instance  of  which  I  have  seen  in  the  Earl 
of  Ashburnham's  menagerie,  where  the  summer  duck,  anas 
sponsa,  flew  up  and  settled  on  the  branch  of  an  oak-tree  in 
my  presence :  but  whether  any  of  them  roost  on  trees  in  the 
night,  we  are  not  informed  by  any  author  that  I  am  acquainted 
with.  I  suppose  not,  but  that,  like  the  rest  of  the  genus,  they 
sleep  on  the  water,  where  the  birds  of  this  genus  are  not 
always  perfectly  secure,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  cir- 
cumstance which  happened  in  this  neighborhood  a  few  years 
since,  as  I  was  credibly  informed.     A  female  fox  was  found 


336  WHITE 

in  the  morning  drowned  in  the  same  pond  in  which  were  sev- 
eral geese,  and  it  was  supposed  that  in  the  night  the  fox  swam 
into  the  pond  to  devour  the  geese,  but  was  attacked  by  the 
gander,  which,  being  most  powerful  in  its  own  element,  buf- 
feted the  fox  with  its  wings  about  the  head  till  it  was  drowned. 
—  Markwick. 

Hen  Partridge.  —  A  hen  partridge  came  out  of  a  ditch 
and  ran  along  shivering  with  her  wings  and  crying  out  as  if 
wounded  and  unable  to  get  from  us.  While  the  dam  acted 
this  distress,  the  boy  who  attended  me  saw  her  brood,  that 
was  small  and  unable  to  fly,  run  for  shelter  into  an  old  fox- 
earth  under  the  bank.  So  wonderful  a  power  is  instinct.  — 
White. 

It  is  not  uncommon  to  see  an  old  partridge  feign  itself 
wounded  and  run  along  on  the  ground  fluttering  and  crying 
before  either  dog  or  man,  to  draw  them  away  from  its  help- 
less unfledged  young  ones.  I  have  seen  it  often,  and  once  in 
particular  I  saw  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  old  bird's  solici- 
tude to  save  its  brood.  As  I  was  hunting  a  young  pointer, 
the  dog  ran  on  a  brood  of  very  small  partridges :  the  old  bird 
cried,  fluttered,  and  ran  tumbling  along  just  before  the  dog's 
nose  till  she  had  drawn  him  to  a  considerable  distance,  when 
she  took  wing  and  flew  still  farther  off,  but  not  out  of  the 
field :  on  this  the  dog  returned  to  me,  near  which  place  the 
young  ones  lay  concealed  in  the  grass,  which  the  old  bird  no 
sooner  perceived  than  she  flew  back  again  to  us,  settled  just 
before  the  dog's  nose  again,  and  by  rolling  and  tumbling 
about,  drew  off  his  attention  from  her  young,  and  thus  pre- 
served her  brood  a  second  time.  I  have  also  seen,  when  a 
kite  has  been  hovering  over  a  covey  of  young  partridges,  the 
old  birds  fly  up  at  the  bird  of  prey,  screaming  and  fighting 
with  all  their  might  to  preserve  their  brood.  —  Markwick. 

A  Hybrid  Pheasant.  —  Lord  Stawell  sent  me  from  the 
great  lodge  in  the  Holt  a  curious  bird  for  my  inspection.  It  was 
found  by  the  spaniels  of  one  of  his  keepers  in  a  coppice,  and 
shot  on  the  wing.  The  shape,  air,  and  habit  of  the  bird,  and 
the  scarlet  ring  round  the  eyes,  agreed  well  with  the  appear- 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   BIRDS  337 

ance  of  a  cock  pheasant ;  but  then  the  head,  and  neck,  and 
breast,  and  belly  were  of  a  glossy  black :  and  though  it 
weighed  three  pounds  three  ounces  and  a  half,^  the  weight 
of  a  full-grown  cock  pheasant,  yet  there  were  no  signs  of 
any  spurs  on  the  legs,  as  is  usual  with  all  grown  cock  pheas- 
ants who  have  long  ones.  The  legs  and  feet  were  naked 
of  feathers,  and  therefore  it  could  be  nothing  of  the  grouse 
kind.  In  the  tail  were  no  bending  feathers,  such  as  cock 
pheasants  usually  have  and  are  characteristic  of  the  sex. 
The  tail  was  much  shorter  than  the  tail  of  a  hen  pheasant, 
and  blunt  and  square  at  the  end.  The  back,  wing,  feathers, 
and  tail  were  all  of  a  pale  russet  curiously  streaked  some- 
what like  the  upper  parts  of  a  hen  partridge.  I  returned  it 
with  my  verdict  that  it  was  probably  a  spurious  or  hybrid 
hen  bird,  bred  between  a  cock  pheasant  and  some  domestic 
fowl.  When  I  came  to  talk  with  the  keeper  who  brought  it, 
he  told  me  that  some  peahens  had  been  known  last  summer 
to  haunt  the  coppices  and  coverts  where  this  mule  was  found. 

Mr.  Elmer,  of  Farnhara,  the  famous  game  painter,  was 
employed  to  take  an  exact  copy  of  this  curiolis  bird. 

N.B. — It  ought  to  be  mentioned  that  some  good  judges 
have  imagined  this  bird  to  have  been  a  stray  grouse  or  black- 
cock ;  it  is  however  to  be  obser\^ed,  that  Mr.  W.  remarks 
that  its  legs  and  feet  were  naked,  whereas  those  of  the  grouse 
are  feathered  to  the  toes.  —  White. 

Mr.  Latham  observes  that  "  peahens,  after  they  have  done 
laying,  sometimes  assume  the  plumage  of  the  male  bird," 
and  has  given  a  figure  of  the  male-feathered  peahen  now  to 
be  seen  in  the  Leverian  Museum ;  and  M.  Salerne  remarks, 
that  "the  hen  pheasant,  when  she  has  done  laying  and  sit- 
ting, will  get  the  plumage  of  the  male."  May  not  this  hybrid 
pheasant  (as  Mr.  White  calls  it)  be  a  bird  of  this  kind  ?  that 
is,  an  old  hen  pheasant  which  had  just  begun  to  assume  the 
plumage  of  the  cock.  —  Markwick. 

Landrail  —  A  man  brought  me  a  landrail,  or  daker-hen, 
a  bird  so  rare  in  this  district  that  we  seldom  see  more  than 
one  or  two  in  a  season,  and  those  only  in  autumn.^    This  is 
23 


338  WHITE 

deemed  a  bird  of  passage  by  all  the  writers ;  yet  from  its 
formation  seems  to  be  poorly  qualified  for  migration ;  for 
its  wings  are  short,  and  placed  so  forward  and  out  of  the 
centre  of  gravity,  that  it  flies  in  a  very  heavy  and  embarrassed 
manner,  with  its  legs  hanging  down ;  and  can  hardly  be 
sprung  a  second  time,  as  it  runs  very  fast  and  seems  to 
depend  more  on  the  swiftness  of  its  feet  than  on  its  flying. 

When  we  came  to  draw  it,  we  found  the  entrails  so  soft 
and  tender  in  appearance,  they  might  have  been  dressed  like 
the  ropes  of  a  woodcock.  The  craw  or  crop  was  small  and 
lank,  containing  a  mucus ;  the  gizzard  thick  and  strong,  and 
filled  with  small  shell  snails,  some  whole,  and  many  ground 
to  pieces  through  the  attrition  which  is  occasioned  by  the 
muscular  force  and  motion  of  that  intestine.  We  saw  no 
gravels  among  the  food :  perhaps  the  shell  snails  might  per- 
form the  functions  of  gravels  or  pebbles,  and  might  grind 
one  another.  Landrails  used  to  abound  formerly,  I  remem- 
ber, in  the  low  wet  bean-fields  of  Christian  Malford  in  North 
Wilts,  and  in  the  meadows  near  Paradise  Gardens  at  Oxford, 
where  I  have  often  heard  them  cry  crex,  crex.  The  bird 
mentioned  above  weighed  seven  and  a  half  ounces,  was  fat 
and  tender,  and  in  flavor  like  the  flesh  of  a  woodcock.  The 
liver  was  very  large  and  delicate.  —  White. 

Landrails  are  more  plentiful  with  us  than  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Selborne.  I  have  found  four  brace  in  an  afternoon, 
and  a  friend  of  mine  lately  shot  nine  in  two  adjoining  fields ; 
but  I  never  saw  them  in  any  other  season  than  the  autumn. 

That  it  is  a  bird  of  passage  there  can  be  little  doubt,  though 
Mr.  White  thinks  it  poorly  qualified  for  migration,  on  account 
of  the  wings  being  short  and  not  placed  in  the  exact  centre  of 
gravity ;  how  that  may  be  I  cannot  say,  but  I  know  that  its 
heavy  sluggish  flight  is  not  owing  to  its  inability  of  flying  faster, 
for  I  have  seen  it  fly  very  swiftly,  although  in  general  its  actions 
are  sluggish.  Its  unwillingness  to  rise  proceeds,  I  imagine, 
from  its  sluggish  disposition  and  its  great  timidity,  for  it  will 
sometimes  squat  so  close  to  the  ground  as  to  suffer  itself  to  be 
taken  up  by  the  hand,  rather  than  rise ;  and  yet  it  will  at  times 
run  very  fast. 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   BIRDS  339 

What  Mr.  White  remarks  respecting  the  small  shell  snails 
found  in  its  gizzard  confirms  my  opinion  that  it  frequents  corn- 
fields, seed  clover,  and  brakes  or  fern,  more  for  the  sake  of 
snails,  slugs,  and  other  insects  which  abound  in  such  places, 
than  for  the  grain  or  seeds  ;  and  that  it  is  entirely  an  insectivo- 
rous bird.  —  Markwick. 

Food  of  the  Ring-dove.  —  One  of  my  neighbors  shot  a 
ring-dove  on  an  evening  as  it  was  returning  from  feed  and 
going  to  roost.  When  his  wife  had  picked  and  drawn  it,  she 
found  its  craw  stuffed  with  the  most  nice  and  tender  tops  of 
turnips.  These  she  washed  and  boiled,  and  so  sat  down  to  a 
choice  and  delicate  plate  of  greens,  culled  and  provided  in  this 
extraordinary  manner. 

Hence  we  may  see  that  graminivorous  birds,  when  grain  fails, 
can  subsist  on  the  leaves  of  vegetables.  There  is  reason  to 
suppose  that  they  would  not  long  be  healthy  without ;  for  tur- 
keys, though  corn  fed,  delight  in  a  variety  of  plants,  such  as 
cabbage,  lettuce,  endive,  etc.,  and  poultry  pick  much  grass; 
while  geese  live  for  months  together  on  commons  by  grazing 

alone. 

"  Naught  is  useless  made ;  .  .  . 
.   .  .     On  the  barren  heath 
The  shepherd  tends  his  flock  that  daily  crop 
Their  verdant  dinner  from  the  mossy  turf 
Sufficient :  after  them  the  cackling  goose, 
Close-grazer,  finds  wherewith  to  ease  her  want." 

Philips's  Cyder. 
—  White. 

That  many  graminivorous  birds  feed  also  on  the  herbage  or 
leaves  of  plants,  there  can  be  no  doubt :  partridges  and  larks 
frequently  feed  on  the  green  leaves  of  turnips,  which  give  a 
peculiar  flavor  to  their  flesh,  that  is,  to  me,  very  palatable  :  the 
flavor  also  of  wild-ducks  and  geese  greatly  depends  on  the 
nature  of  their  food ;  and  their  flesh  frequently  contracts  a 
rank  unpleasant  taste,  from  their  having  lately  fed  on  strong, 
marshy,  aquatic  plants,  as  I  suppose. 

That  the  leaves  of  vegetables  are  wholesome  and  conducive 
to  the  health  of  birds  seems  probable,  for  many  people  fat 
their  ducks  and  turkeys  with  the  leaves  of  lettuce  chopped 
small.  —  Markwick. 


340  WHITE 

Hen  Harrier.  —  A  neighboring  gentleman  sprung  a  pheas- 
ant in  a  wheat  stubble,  and  shot  at  it ;  when,  notwithstanding 
the  report  of  the  gun,  it  was  immediately  pursued  by  the  blue 
hawk,  known  by  the  name  of  the  hen  harrier,  but  escaped  into 
some  covert.  He  then  sprung  a  second,  and  a  third,  in  the 
same  field,  that  got  away  in  the  same  manner ;  the  hawk  hov- 
ering round  him  all  the  while  that  he  was  beating  the  field, 
conscious  no  doubt  of  the  game  that  lurked  in  the  stubble. 
Hence  we  may  conclude  that  this  bird  of  prey  was  rendered 
very  daring  and  bold  by  hunger,  and  that  hawks  cannot  always 
seize  their  game  when  they  please.  We  may  farther  observe, 
that  they  cannot  pounce  their  quarry  on  the  ground  where  it 
might  be  able  to  make  a  stout  resistance,  since  so  large  a  fowl 
as  a  pheasant  could  not  but  be  visible  to  the  piercing  eye  of  a 
hawk,  when  hovering  over  the  field.  Hence  that  propensity 
of  cowering  and  squatting  till  they  are  almost  trod  on,  which 
no  doubt  was  intended  as  a  mode  of  security ;  though  long 
rendered  destructive  to  the  whole  race  of  gallinae  by  the  in- 
vention of  nets  and  guns.  —  White. 

Of  the  great  boldness  and  rapacity  of  birds  of  prey  when 
urged  on  by  hunger,  I  have  seen  several  instances ;  particu- 
larly v/hen  shooting  in  the  winter  in  company  with  two  friends 
a  woodcock  flew  across  us,  closely  pursued  by  a  small  hawk ; 
we  all  three  fired  at  the  woodcock  instead  of  the  hawk,  which, 
notwithstanding  the  report  of  three  guns  close  by  it,  continued 
its  pursuit  of  the  woodcock,  struck  it  down,  and  carried  it  off, 
as  we  afterwards  discovered. 

At  another  time,  when  partridge-shooting  with  a  friend,  we 
saw  a  ring-tail  hawk  rise  out  of  a  pit  with  some  large  bird  in 
its  claws ;  though  at  a  great  distance  we  both  fired  and  obliged 
it  to  drop  its  prey,  which  proved  to  be  one  of  the  partridges 
which  we  were  in  pursuit  of ;  and  lastly,  in  an  evening,  I  shot 
at  and  plainly  saw  that  I  had  wounded  a  partridge,  but  it  being 
late,  was  obliged  to  go  home  without  finding  it  again.  The 
next  morning  I  walked  round  my  land  without  any  gun,  but  a 
favorite  old  spaniel  followed  my  heels.  When  I  came  near 
the  field  where  I  wounded  the  bird  the  evening  before,  I  heard 
the  partridges  call,  and  seeming  to  be  much  disturbed.     On 


t/1 


u 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   BIRDS  34 1 

my  approaching  the  bar-way,  they  all  rose,  some  on  my  right 
and  some  on  my  left  hand  ;  and  just  before  and  over  my  head 
I  perceived  (though  indistinctly  from  the  extreme  velocity  of 
their  motion)  two  birds  fly  directly  against  each  other,  when 
instantly,  to  my  great  astonishment,  down  dropped  a  partridge 
at  my  feet ;  the  dog  immediately  seized  it,  and  on  examination 
I  found  the  blood  flow  very  fast  from  a  flesh  wound  in  the 
head,  but  there  was  some  dry  clotted  blood  on  its  wings  and 
side  ;  whence  I  concluded  that  a  hawk  had  singled  out  my 
wounded  bird  as  the  object  of  his  prey,  and  had  struck  it 
down  the  instant  that  my  approach  had  obliged  the  birds  to 
rise  on  the  wing ;  but  the  space  between  the  hedges  was  so 
small,  and  the  motion  of  the  birds  so  instantaneous  and 
quick,  that  I  could  not  distinctly  observe  the  operation,  — 
Mark  WICK. 

Great  Speckled  Diver  or  Loon.  —  As  one  of  my 
neighbors  was  traversing  Wolmer  Forest  from  Bramshot 
across  the  moors,  he  found  a  large  uncommon  bird  fluttering 
in  the  heath,  but  not  wounded,  which  he  brought  home  alive. 
On  examination  it  proved  to  be  colymbus  glacialis,  Linn.,  the 
great  speckled  diver,  or  loon,  which  is  most  excellently  de- 
scribed in  Willughby's  "  Ornithology." 

Every  part  and  proportion  of  this  bird  is  so  incomparably 
adapted  to  its  mode  of  life,  that  in  no  instance  do  we  see  the 
wisdom  of  God  in  the  creation  to  more  advantage.  The  head 
is  sharp  and  smaller  than  the  part  of  the  neck  adjoining,  in 
order  that  it  may  pierce  the  water ;  the  wings  are  placed  for- 
ward, and  out  of  the  centre  of  gravity,  for  a  purpose  which 
shall  be  noticed  hereafter ;  the  thighs  quite  at  the  podex,  in 
order  to  facilitate  diving ;  and  the  legs  are  quite  flat,  and  as 
sharp  backwards  almost  as  the  edge  of  a  knife,  that  in  strik- 
ing they  may  easily  cut  the  water ;  while  the  feet  are  pal- 
mated,  and  broad  for  swimming,  yet  so  folded  up  when 
advanced  forward  to  take  a  fresh  stroke,  as  to  be  full  as 
narrow  as  the  shank.  The  two  exterior  toes  of  the  feet  are 
longest ;  the  nails  flat  and  broad,  resembling  the  human, 
which  give  strength  and  increase  the  power  of  swimming. 
The  foot,  when  expanded,  is  not  at  right  angles  to  the  leg  or 


342  WHITE 

fiody  of  the  bird  :  but  the  exterior  part  inclining  towards  the 
head  forms  an  acute  angle  with  the  body,  the  intention 
being  not  to  give  motion  in  the  line  of  the  legs  themselves, 
but  by  the  combined  impulse  of  both  in  an  intermediate  line, 
the  line  of  the  body. 

Most  people  know,  that  have  observed  at  all,  that  the  swim- 
ming of  birds  is  nothing  more  than  a  walking  in  the  water, 
where  one  foot  succeeds  the  other  as  on  the  land  ;  yet  no  one, 
as  far  as  I  am  aware,  has  remarked  that  diving  fowls,  while 
under  water,  impel  and  row  themselves  forward  by  a  motion 
of  their  wings,  as  well  as  by  the  impulse  of  their  feet :  but 
such  is  really  the  case,  as  any  person  may  easily  be  con- 
vinced who  will  observe  ducks,  when  hunted  by  dogs,  in  a 
clear  pond.  Nor  do  I  know  that  any  one  has  given  a  reason 
why  the  wings  of  diving  fowls  are  placed  so  forward  :  doubt- 
less, not  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  their  speed  in  flying, 
since  that  position  certainly  impedes  it,  but  probably  for  the 
increase  of  their  motion  under  water,  by  the  use  of  four  oars 
instead  of  two ;  yet  were  the  wings  and  feet  nearer  together, 
as  in  land  birds,  they  would,  when  in  action,  rather  hinder 
than  assist  one  another. 

This  colymbus  was  of  considerable  bulk,  weighing  only 
three  drams  short  of  three  pounds  avoirdupois.  It  meas- 
ured in  length  from  the  bill  to  the  tail  (which  was  very  short) 
two  feet,  and  to  the  extremities  of  the  toes  four  inches  more ; 
and  the  breadth  of  the  wings  expanded  was  forty-two  inches. 
A  person  attempted  to  eat  the  body,  but  found  it  very  strong 
and  rancid,  as  is  the  flesh  of  all  birds  living  on  fish.  Divers, 
or  loons,  though  bred  in  the  most  northerly  parts  of  Europe, 
yet  are  seen  with  us  in  very  severe  winters  ;  and  on  the  Thames 
they  are  called  sprat  loons,  because  they  prey  much  on  that 
sort  of  fish. 

The  legs  of  the  colymbi  and  mergi  are  placed  so  very  back- 
ward, and  so  out  of  all  centre  of  gravity,  that  these  birds  can- 
not walk  at  all.  They  are  called  by  Linnaeus  compedes,  because 
they  move  on  the  ground  as  if  shackled  or  fettered.  —  White. 

These  accurate  and  ingenious  observations,  tending  to  set 
forth  in  a  proper  light  the  wonderful  works  of  God  in  the  crea- 


OBSERVATIONS   ON    BIRDS  343 

tion,  and  to  point  out  His  wisdom  in  adapting  the  singular 
form  and  position  of  the  limbs  of  this  bird  to  the  particular 
mode  in  which  it  is  destined  to  pass  the  greatest  part  of  its  life 
in  an  element  much  denser  than  the  air,  do  Mr.  White  credit, 
not  only  as  a  naturalist,  but  as  a  man,  and  as  a  philosopher, 
in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word,  in  my  opinion ;  for  were  we 
enabled  to  trace  the  works  of  nature  minutely  and  accurately, 
we  should  find,  not  only  that  every  bird,  but  every  creature, 
was  equally  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  in- 
tended;  though  this  fitness  and  propriety  of  form  is  more 
striking  in  such  animals  as  are  destined  to  any  uncommon 

mode  of  life. 

I  have  had  in  my  possession  two  birds,  which,  though  of  a 
different  genus,  bear  a  great  resemblance  to  Mr.  White's  colym- 
bus,  in  their  manner  of  life,  which  is  spent  chiefly  in  the  water, 
where  they  swim  and  dive  with  astonishing  rapidity,  for  which 
purpose  their  fin-toed  feet,  placed  far  behind,  and  very  short 
wings,  are  particularly  well  adapted,  and  show  the  wisdom  of 
God  in  the  creation  as  conspicuously  as  the  bird  before-men- 
tioned. These  birds  were  the  greater  and  lesser  crested  grebe, 
podiceps  cristatus  et  auritus.  What  surprised  me  most  was 
that  the  first  of  these  birds  was  found  alive  on  dry  ground, 
about  seven  miles  from  the  sea,  to  which  place  there  was  no 
communication  by  water.  How  did  it  get  so  far  from  the  sea  ? 
its  wings  and  legs  being  so  ill  adapted  either  to  flymg  or  walk- 
ing The  lesser  crested  grebe  was  also  found  in  a  fresh-water 
pond  which  had  no  communication  with  other  water,  at  some 
miles'  distance  from  the  sea.  —  Markwick. 

Stone-curlew. -On  the  27th  February,  1788,  stone-cur- 
lews were  heard  to  pipe  :  and  on  March  ist,  after  it  was  dark, 
some  were  passing  over  the  village,  as  might  be  perceived  by 
their  quick  short  note,  which  they  use  in  their  nocturnal  e.xcur- 
sions  by  way  of  watchword,  that  they  may  not  stray  and  lose 

their  companions.  , 

Thus  we  see  that,  retire  whithersoever  they  may  m  the  wm- 

ter,  they  return  again  early  in  the  ^P""^' ^"  Vp^hfosThl 
appears,  the  first  summer  birds  that  come  back.  Perhaps  the 
mildness  of  the  season  may  have  quickened  the  emigration  of 
the  curlews  this  year. 


344  WHITE 

They  spend  the  day  in  high  elevated  fields  and  sheep-walks, 
but  seem  to  descend  in  the  night  to  streams  and  meadows, 
perhaps  for  water,  which  their  upland  haunts  do  not  afford 
them.  —  White. 

On  the  31st  January,  1792, 1  received  a  bird  of  this  species 
which  had  been  recently  killed  by  a  neighboring  farmer,  who 
said  he  had  frequently  seen  it  in  his  fields  during  the  former 
part  of  the  winter :  this  perhaps  was  an  occasional  straggler, 
which  by  some  accident  was  prevented  from  accompanying  its 
companions  in  their  migration.  —  Markwick. 

The  Smallest  Uncrested  Willow-wren. — The  small- 
est uncrested  willow-wren,  or  chiff-chaff,  is  the  next  early  sum- 
mer bird  which  we  have  remarked  ;  it  utters  two  sharp  piercing 
notes,  so  loud  in  hollow  woods  as  to  occasion  an  echo,  and  is 
usually  first  heard  about  the  20th  March.  — White. 

This  bird,  which  Mr.  White  calls  the  smallest  willow-wren  or 
chiff-chaff,  makes  its  appearance  very  early  in  the  spring,  and 
is  very  common  with  us ;  but  I  cannot  make  out  the  three  differ- 
ent species  of  willow-wrens  which  he  assures  us  he  has  discov- 
ered. Ever  since  the  publication  of  his  "  History  of  Selborne  " 
I  have  used  my  utmost  endeavors  to  discover  his  three  birds, 
but  hitherto  without  success.  I  have  frequently  shot  the  bird 
which  "  haunts  only  the  tops  of  trees,  and  makes  a  sibilous 
noise,"  even  in  the  very  act  of  uttering  that  sibilous  note,  but 
it  always  proved  to  be  the  common  willow-wren  or  his  chiff- 
chaff.  In  short,  I  never  could  discover  more  than  one  species, 
unless  my  greater  petty-chaps,  sylvia  hortensis  of  Latham,  is 
his  greatest  willow-wren.  —  Markwick. 

Fern-owl,  or  Goat-sucker.  —  The  country-people  have  a 
notion  that  the  fern-owl,  or  churn-owl  or  eve-jarr,  which  they 
also  call  a  puckeridge,  is  very  injurious  to  weanling  calves,  by 
inflicting  as  it  strikes  at  them  the  fatal  distemper  known  to 
cow-leeches  by  the  name  of  puckeridge.*  Thus  does  this  harm- 
less ill-fated  bird  fall  under  a  double  imputation  which  it  by  no 
means  deserves — in  Italy,  of  sucking  the  teats  of  goats,  whence 
it  is  C2i\\e.dcaprimulgus ;  and  with  us,  of  communicating  a  deadly 
disorder  to  cattle.     But  the  truth  of  the  matter  is,  the  malady 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   BIRDS  345 

above-mentioned  is  occasioned  by  the  cBstrus  bovis,  a  dipterous 
insect,  which  lays  its  eggs  along  the  chines  of  kinc,  where  the 
maggots,  when  hatched,  eat  their  way  through  the  hide  of  the 
beast  into  the  flesh,  and  grow  to  a  very  large  size.  I  have 
just  talked  with  a  man  who  says  he  has  more  than  once 
stripped  calves  who  have  died  of  the  puckeridge ;  that  the  ail 
or  complaint  lay  along  the  chine,  where  the  flesh  was  much 
swelled  and  filled  with  purulent  matter.  Once  I  myself  saw 
a  large  rough  maggot  of  this  sort  squeezed  out  of  the  back  of 
a  cow. 

These  maggots  in  Essex  are  called  wornils. 

The  least  observation  and  attention  would  convince  men 
that  these  birds  neither  injure  the  goatherd  nor  the  grazier, 
but  are  perfectly  harmless,  and  subsist  alone,  being  night 
birds,  on  night  insects,  such  as  scai-abcEi  and  pJialcBJice ;  and 
through  the  month  of  July  mostly  on  the  scarabcBus  solstitialis, 
which  in  many  districts  abounds  at  that  season.  Those  that 
we  have  opened  have  always  had  their  craws  stuffed  with 
large  night  moths  and  their  eggs,  and  pieces  of  chaffers :  nor 
does  it  anywise  appear  how  they  can,  weak  and  unarmed  as 
they  seem,  inflict  any  harm  upon  kine,  unless  they  possess  the 
powers  of  animal  magnetism  and  can  affect  them  by  fluttering 
over  them. 

A  fern-owl  this  evening  (August  27th)  showed  off  in  a 
very  unusual  and  entertaining  manner,  by  hawking  round  and 
round  the  circumference  of  my  great  spreading  oak  for  twenty 
times  following,  keeping  mostly  close  to  the  grass,  but  occa- 
sionally glancing  up  amidst  the  boughs  of  the  tree.  This 
amusing  bird  was  then  in  pursuit  of  a  brood  of  some  particular 
phalaena  belonging  to  the  oak,  of  which  there  are  several 
sorts  ;  and  exhibited  on  the  occasion  a  command  of  wing 
superior,  I  think,  to  that  of  the  swallow  itself. 

When  a  person  approaches  the  haunt  of  fern-owls  in  an 
evening,  they  continue  flying  round  the  head  of  the  obtruder ; 
and  by  striking  their  wings  together  above  their  backs,  in  the 
manner  that  the  pigeons  called  smiters  are  known  to  do,  make 
a  smart  snap ;  perhaps  at  that  time  they  are  jealous  for  their 
young,  and  their  noise  and  gesture  are  intended  by  way  of 
menace. 


34^  WHITE 

Fern-owls  have  attachment  to  oaks,  no  doubt  on  account  of 
food  ;  for  the  next  evening  we  saw  one  again  several  times 
among  the  boughs  of  the  same  tree  ;  but  it  did  not  skim  round 
its  stem  over  the  grass,  as  on  the  evening  before.  In  May 
these  birds  find  the  scarabceiis  melolontha  on  the  oak,  and  the 
scarabceiis  solstitialis  at  midsummer.  These  peculiar  birds  can 
only  be  watched  and  observed  for  two  hours  in  the  twenty- 
four  ;  and  then  in  dubious  twilight  an  hour  after  sunset  and 
an  hour  before  sunrise. 

On  this  day  (July  14th,  1789),  a  woman  brought  me  two 
eggs  of  a  fern-owl,  or  evening  jarr,  which  she  found  on  the 
verge  of  the  Hanger,  to  the  left  of  the  hermitage  under  a 
beechen  shrub.  This  person,  who  lives  just  at  the  foot  of  the 
Hanger,  seems  well  acquainted  with  these  nocturnal  swallows, 
and  says  she  has  often  found  their  eggs  near  that  place,  and 
that  they  lay  only  two  at  a  time  on  the  bare  ground.  The 
eggs  were  oblong,  dusky,  and  streaked  somewhat  in  the  man- 
ner of  the  plumage  of  the  parent  bird,  and  were  equal  in  size 
at  each  end.  The  dam  was  sitting  on  the  eggs  when  found, 
which  contained  the  rudiments  of  young,  and  would  have  been 
hatched  perhaps  in  a  week.  From  hence  we  may  see  the  time 
of  their  breeding,  which  corresponds  pretty  well  with  that  of 
the  swift,  as  does  also  the  period  of  their  arrival.  Each  species 
is  usually  seen  about  the  beginning  of  May.  Each  breeds 
but  once  in  a  summer;  each  lays  only  two  eggs. 

July  4th,  1790.  The  woman  who  brought  me  two  fern-owl's 
eggs  last  year  on  July  14th,  on  this  day  produced  me  two  more, 
one  of  which  had  been  laid  this  morning,  as  appears  plainly, 
because  there  was  only  one  in  the  nest  the  evening  before. 
They  were  found,  as  last  July,  on  the  verge  of  the  down  above 
the  hermitage  under  a  beechen  shrub,  on  the  naked  ground. 
Last  year  those  eggs  were  full  of  young,  just  ready  to  be 
hatched. 

These  circumstances  point  out  the  exact  time  when  these 
curious,  nocturnal  migratory  birds  lay  their  eggs  and  hatch 
their  young.  Fern-owls,  like  snipes,  stone-curlews,  and  some 
other  birds,  make  no  nest.  Birds  that  build  on  the  ground  do 
not  make  much  of  nests.  —  White. 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   BIRDS  347 

No  author  that  I  am  acquainted  with  has  given  so  accurate 
and  pleasing  an  account  of  the  manners  and  habits  of  the  goat- 
sucker as  Mr.  White,  taken  entirely  from  his  own  observations. 
Its  being  a  nocturnal  bird,  has  prevented  my  having  many 
opportunities  of  observing  it.  I  suspect  that  it  passes  the  day 
in  concealment  amidst  the  dark  and  shady  gloom  of  deep- 
wooded  dells,  or  as  they  are  called  here  gills ;  having  more 
than  once  seen  it  roused  from  such  solitary  places  by  my  dogs, 
when  shooting  in  the  day-time.  I  have  also  sometimes  seen  it 
in  an  evening,  but  not  long  enough  to  take  notice  of  its  habits 
and  manners.  I  have  never  seen  it  but  in  summer,  between 
the  months  of  May  and  September.  —  Markwick. 

Sand-Martins.  —  March  23rd,  1788.  A  gentleman  who 
was  this  week  on  a  visit  at  Waverley  took  the  opportunity  of 
examining  some  of  the  holes  in  the  sandbanks  with  which 
that  district  abounds.  As  these  are  undoubtedly  bored  by  bank- 
martins,  and  are  the  places  where  they  avowedly  breed,  he  was 
in  hopes  that  they  might  have  slept  there  also,  and  that  he 
might  have  surprised  them  just  as  they  were  awaking  from 
their  winter  slumbers.  When  he  had  dug  for  some  time,  he 
found  the  holes  were  horizontal  and  serpentine,  as  I  had  ob- 
served before ;  and  that  the  nests  were  deposited  at  the  inner 
end,  and  had  been  occupied  by  broods  in  former  summers,  but 
no  torpid  birds  were  to  be  found.  He  opened  and  examined 
about  a  dozen  holes.  Another  gentleman  made  the  same 
search  many  years  ago,  with  as  little  success. 

These  holes  were  in  depth  about  two  feet. 

March  21st,  1790.  A  single  bank  or  sand  martin  was  seen 
hovering  and  playing  round  the  sandpit  at  Short  Heath,  where 
in  the  summer  they  abound. 

April  9th,  1793.  A  sober  hind  assures  us  that  this  day,  on 
Wishhanger  Common  between  Hedleigh  and  Frinsham,  he  saw 
several  bank-martins  playing  in  and  out,  and  hanging  before 
some  nest-holes  in  a  sandhill,  where  these  birds  usually 
nestle. 

The  incident  confirms  my  suspicions,  that  this  species  of 
hirundo  is  to  be  seen  first  of  any ;  and  gives  great  reason  to 
suppose  that  they  do  not  leave  their  wild  haunts  at  all,  but 


348  WHITE 

are  secreted  amidst  the  clefts  and  caverns  of  those  abrupt 
cHffs,  where  they  usually  spend  their  summers. 

The  late  severe  weather  considered,  it  is  not  very  probable 
that  these  birds  should  have  migrated  so  early  from  a  tropical 
region,  through  all  these  cutting  winds  and  pinching  frosts ; 
but  it  is  easy  to  suppose  that  they  may,  like  bats  and  flies,  have 
been  awakened  by  the  influence  of  the  sun,  amidst  their  secret 
latebrae,  where  they  have  spent  the  uncomfortable,  foodless 
months  in  a  torpid  state  and  the  profoundest  of  slumbers. 

There  is  a  large  pond  at  Wishhanger,  which  induces  these 
sand-martins  to  frequent  that  district.  For  I  have  ever  re- 
marked that  they  haunt  near  great  waters,  either  rivers  or 
lakes.  —  White. 

Here,  and  in  many  other  passages  of  his  writings,  this  very 
ingenious  naturalist  savors  the  opinion  that  part,  at  least,  of 
the  swallow  tribe  pass  their  winter  in  a  torpid  state  in  the  same 
manner  as  bats  and  flies,  and  revive  again  on  the  approach  of 
spring. 

I  have  frequently  taken  notice  of  all  these  circumstances, 
which  induced  Mr.  White  to  suppose  that  some  of  these  hirun- 
dines  lie  torpid  during  winter.  I  have  seen  so  late  as  Novem- 
ber, on  a  finer  day  than  usual  at  that  season  of  the  year,  two 
or  three  swallows  flying  backwards  and  forwards  under  a  warm 
hedge,  or  on  the  sunny  side  of  some  old  building ;  nay,  I  once 
saw  on  the  8th  December  two  martins  flying  about  very  briskly, 
the  weather  being  mild.  I  had  not  seen  any  considerable  num- 
ber either  of  swallows  or  martins  for  a  considerable  time  be- 
fore ;  from  whence,  then,  could  these  few  birds  come,  if  not 
from  some  hole  or  cavern  where  they  had  laid  themselves  up 
for  the  winter  ?  Surely  it  will  not  be  asserted  that  these  birds 
migrate  back  again  from  some  distant  tropical  region,  merely 
on  the  appearance  of  a  fine  day  or  two,  at  this  late  season 
of  the  year.  Again,  very  early  in  the  spring,  and  sometimes 
immediately  after  very  cold  severe  weather,  on  its  growing  a 
little  warmer,  a  few  of  these  birds  suddenly  make  their  appear- 
ance, long  before  the  generality  of  them  are  seen.  These 
appearances  certainly  favor  the  opinion  of  their  passing  the 
winter  in  a  torpid  state,  but  do  not  absolutely  prove  the  fact ; 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   BIRDS  349 

for  who  ever  saw  them  reviving  of  their  own  accord  from  their 
torpid  state,  without  being  first  brought  to  the  fire,  and,  as  it 
were,  forced  into  Hfe  again ;  soon  after  which  revivification 
they  constantly  die.  —  Markwick. 

Swallows,  Congregating  and  Disappearance  of.  — 
During  the  severe  winds  that  often  prevail  late  in  the  spring, 
it  is  not  easy  to  say  how  the  hirundines  subsist ;  for  they  with- 
draw themselves,  and  are  hardly  ever  seen,  nor  do  any  insects 
appear  for  their  support.  That  they  can  retire  to  rest,  and 
sleep  away  these  uncomfortable  periods,  as  bats  do,  is  a  mat- 
ter rather  to  be  suspected  than  proved ;  or  do  they  not  rather 
spend  their  time  in  deep  and  sheltered  vales  near  waters, 
where  insects  are  more  likely  to  be  found  .''  Certain  it  is,  that 
hardly  any  individuals  of  this  genus  have  at  such  times  been 
seen  for  several  days  together. 

September  13th,  1791.  The  congregating  flocks  of  hirun- 
dines on  the  church  and  tower  are  very  beautiful  and  amusing ! 
When  they  fly  off  together  from  the  roof,  on  any  alarm,  they 
quite  swarm  in  the  air.  But  they  soon  settle  in  heaps,  and 
preening  their  feathers,  and  lifting  up  their  wings  to  admit  the 
sun,  seem  highly  to  enjoy  the  warm  situation.  Thus  they  spend 
the  heat  of  the  day,  preparing  for  their  emigration,  and,  as  it 
were,  consulting  when  and  where  they  are  to  go.  The  flight 
about  the  church  seems  to  consist  chiefly  of  house-martins, 
about  400  in  number;  but  there  are  other  places  of  rendez- 
vous about  the  village  frequented  at  the  same  time. 

It  is  remarkable  that  though  most  of  them  sit  on  the  battle- 
ments and  roof,  yet  many  hang  or  cling  for  some  time  by  their 
claws  against  the  surface  of  the  walls,  in  a  manner  not  prac- 
tised by  them  at  any  other  time  of  their  remaining  with  us. 

The  swallows  seem  to  delight  more  in  holding  their  assem- 
blies on  trees. 

November  3rd,  1789.  Two  swallows  were  seen  this  morn- 
ing at  Newton  vicarage-house,  hovering  and  settling  on  the 
roofs  and  out-buildings.  None  have  been  observed  at  Sel- 
borne  since  October  nth.  It  is  very  remarkable,  that  after 
the  hirundines  have  disappeared  for  some  weeks,  a  few  are 
occasionally  seen  again;    sometimes,    in   the   first   week   in 


3SO  WHITE 

November,  and  that  only  for  one  day.  Do  they  not  with- 
draw and  slumber  in  some  hiding-place  in  the  interval  ?  For 
we  cannot  suppose  they  had  emigrated  to  warmer  climes  and 
so  returned  again  for  one  day.  Is  it  not  more  probable  that 
they  are  awakened  from  sleep,  and  like  the  bats  are  come  forth 
to  collect  a  little  food .''  Bats  appear  at  all  seasons  through 
the  autumn  and  spring  months,  when  the  thermometer  is  at 
50°,  because  then  phalsense  and  moths  are  stirring. 
These  swallows  looked  like  young  ones.  —  White. 

Of  their  migration  the  proofs  are  such  as  will  scarcely  admit 
of  a  doubt.  Sir  Charles  Wager  and  Captain  Wright  saw  vast 
flocks  of  them  at  sea,  when  on  their  passage  from  one  country 
to  another.  Our  author,  Mr.  White,  saw  what  he  deemed  the 
actual  migration  of  these  birds,  and  which  he  has  described  at 
p.  184  of  his  "  History  of  Selborne  ;  "  and  of  their  congregat- 
ing together  on  the  roofs  of  churches  and  other  buildings,  and 
on  trees,  previous  to  their  departure,  many  instances  occur ; 
particularly  I  once  observed  a  large  stock  of  house-martins  on 
the  roof  of  the  church  here  at  Catsfield,  which  acted  exactly 
in  the  manner  here  described  by  Mr.  White,  sometimes  preen- 
ing their  feathers  and  spreading  their  wings  to  the  sun,  and 
then  flying  off  all  together,  but  soon  returning  to  their  former 
situation.  The  greatest  part  of  these  birds  seem  to  be  young 
ones.  —  Markwick. 

Wagtails. — While  the  cows  are  feeding  in  the  moist  low 
pastures,  broods  of  wagtails,  white  and  gray,  run  round  them, 
close  up  to  their  noses,  and  under  their  very  bellies,  availing 
themselves  of  the  flies  that  settle  on  their  legs,  and  probably 
finding  worms  and  larvae  that  are  roused  by  the  trampling  of 
their  feet.  Nature  is  such  an  economist,  that  the  most  incon- 
gruous animals  can  avail  themselves  of  each  other ! 

Interest  makes  strange  friendships.  —  White. 

Birds  continually  avail  themselves  of  particular  and  unusual 
circumstances  to  procure  their  food ;  thus  wagtails  keep  play- 
ing about  the  noses  and  legs  of  cattle  as  they  feed,  in  quest 
of  flies  and  other  insects  which  abound  near  those  animals ; 
and  great  numbers  of  them  will  follow  close  to  the  plough  to 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   BIRDS  35 1 

devour  the  worms,  etc.,  that  are  turned  up  by  that  instrument. 
The  redbreast  attends  the  gardener  when  digging  his  borders  ; 
and  will,  with  great  familiarity  and  tameness,  pick  out  the 
worms,  almost  close  to  his  spade,  as  I  have  frequently  seen. 
Starlings  and  magpies  very  often  sit  on  the  backs  of  sheep  and 
deer  to  pick  out  their  ticks.  —  Markwick. 

Wryneck.  —  These  birds  appear  on  the  grass  plots  and 
walks  ;  they  walk  a  little  as  well  as  hop,  and  thrust  their  bills 
into  the  turf,  in  quest,  I  conclude,  of  ants,  which  are  their 
food.  While  they  hold  their  bills  in  the  grass,  they  draw  out 
their  prey  with  their  tongues,  which  are  so  long  as  to  be  coiled 
round  their  heads.  —  White. 

Grossbeak.  —  Mr.  B.  shot  a  cock  grossbeak  which  he  had 
observed  to  haunt  his  garden  for  more  than  a  fortnight.  I 
began  to  accuse  this  bird  of  making  sad  havoc  among  the  buds 
of  the  cherries,  gooseberries,  and  wall  fruit  of  all  the  neighbor- 
ing orchards.  Upon  opening  its  crop  or  craw  no  buds  were 
to  be  seen,  but  a  mass  of  kernels  of  the  stones  of  fruits.  Mr. 
B.  observed  that  this  bird  frequented  the  spot  where  plum- 
trees  grow,  and  that  he  had  seen  it  with  somewhat  hard  in  its 
mouth,  which  it  broke  with  difficulty ;  these  w^ere  the  stones 
of  damsons.  The  Latin  ornithologists  call  this  bird  cocco- 
thraiistes,  i.e.  berry-breaker,  because  with  its  large  horny  beak 
it  cracks  and  breaks  the  shells  of  stone  fruits  for  the  sake  of 
the  seed  or  kernel.  Birds  of  this  sort  are  rarely  seen  in  Eng- 
land, and  only  in  winter.  —  White. 

I  have  never  seen  this  rare  bird  but  during  the  severest  cold 
of  the  hardest  winters;  at  which  season  of  the  year  I  have  had 
in  my  possession  two  or  three  that  were  killed  in  this  neighbor- 
hood in  different  years. —  Markwick. 

Notes 

1  The  pheasants  run  into  equal  danger  when  they  roost  in  the  trees  ;  for, 
although  they  are  secure  from  ground  vermin,  yet  do  they  often  fail  victims 
to  the  poacher,  who  can  see  them  plainly  against  the  sky.  —  G.  C.  D. 

2  Hen  pheasants  usually  weigh  only  two  pounds  ten  ounces.  —  G.  W. 

3  The  landrail  is  common  in  Shropshire,  and  I  have  found  three  or  four 
nests  in  a  single  hayfield.     One  of  these  birds  was  once  brought  in,  in  a 


352  WHITE 

load  of  hay,  and  when  discovered  feigned  to  be  dead.  It  was  laid  aside, 
and  recovered  so  quickly,  that  it  made  good  its  eScape  with  remarkable 
speed.  —  G.  C.  D. 

*  The  goat-sucker,  like  other  birds,  finds  insects  in  attendance  on  cattle  ; 
hence  its  apparent  "striking  at  them."  Magpies  and  starlings  will  coolly 
perch  on  the  backs  of  animals  and  leisurely  make  their  meal.  —  G.  C.  D. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  QUADRUPEDS 

Sheep.  —  The  sheep  on  the  downs  this  winter  (1769)  are 
very  ragged,  and  their  coats  much  torn ;  the  shepherds  say 
they  tear  their  fleeces  with  their  own  mouths  and  horns,  and 
they  are  always  in  that  way  in  mild  wet  winters,  being  teased 
and  tickled  with  a  kind  of  lice. 

After  ewes  and  lambs  are  shorn,  there  is  great  confusion 
and  bleating,  neither  the  dams  nor  the  young  being  able  to 
distinguish  one  another  as  before.  This  embarrassment  seems 
not  so  much  to  arise  from  the  loss  of  the  fleece,  which  may 
occasion  an  alteration  in  their  appearance,  as  from  the  defect 
of  that  notus  odor,  discriminating  each  individual  personally ; 
which  also  is  confounded  by  the  strong  scent  of  pitch  and  tar 
wherewith  they  are  newly  marked ;  for  the  brute  creation  recog- 
nize each  other  more  from  the  smell  than  the  sight ;  and  in 
matters  of  identity  and  diversity  appeal  much  more  to  their 
noses  than  their  eyes.  After  sheep  have  been  washed  there 
is  the  same  confusion,  from  the  reason  given  above.  — White, 

Rabbits.  —  Rabbits  make  incomparably  the  finest  turf,  for 
they  not  only  bite  closer  than  larger  quadrupeds,  but  they 
allow  no  bents  to  rise  ;  hence  warrens  produce  much  the  most 
delicate  turf  for  gardens.  Sheep  never  touch  the  stalks  of 
grasses.  — White. 

Cat  and  Squirrels.  —  A  boy  has  taken  three  young  squir- 
rels in  their  nest  or  drey  as  it  is  called  in  these  parts.  These 
small  creatures  he  put  under  the  care  of  a  cat  who  had  lately 
lost  her  kittens,  and  finds  that  she  nurses  and  suckles  them 
with  the  same  assiduity  and  affection  as  if  they  were  her  own 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   QUADRUPEDS  353 

offspring.  This  circumstance  corroborates  my  suspicion,  that 
the  mention  of  exposed  and  deserted  children  being  nurtured 
by  female  beasts  of  prey  who  had  lost  their  young,  may  not 
be  so  improbable  an  incident  as  many  have  supposed ;  and 
therefore  may  be  a  justification  of  those  authors  who  have 
gravely  mentioned  what  some  have  deemed  to  be  a  wild  and 
improbable  story. 

So  many  people  went  to  see  the  little  squirrels  suckled  by 
a  cat,  that  the  foster  mother  became  jealous  of  her  charge,  and 
in  pain  for  their  safety ;  and  therefore  hid  them  over  the  ceil- 
ing, where  one  died.  This  circumstance  shows  her  affection 
for  these  fondlings,  and  that  she  supposes  the  squirrels  to  be 
her  own  young.  Thus  hens,  when  they  have  hatched  duck- 
lings, are  equally  attached  to  them  as  if  they  were  their  own 
chickens.  —  White. 

Horse.  —  An  old  hunting  mare,  which  ran  on  the  common, 
being  taken  very  ill,  ran  down  into  the  village,  as  it  were  to 
implore  the  help  of  men,  and  died  the  night  following  in  the 
street.  —  White. 

Hounds.  —  The  king's  staghounds  came  down  to  Alton, 
attended  by  a  huntsman  and  six  yeoman  prickers  with  horns, 
to  try  for  the  stag  that  has  haunted  Harteley  Wood  for  so  long 
a  time.  Many  hundreds  of  people,  horse  and  foot,  attended 
the  dogs  to  see  the  deer  unharbored;  but  though  the  hunts- 
men drew  Harteley  Wood,  and  Long  Coppice,  and  Shrub  Wood, 
and  Temple  Hangers,  and  on  their  way  back  Harteley  and 
Ward  le  Ham  Hangers,  yet  no  stag  could  be  found. 

The  royal  pack,  accustomed  to  have  the  deer  turned  out 
before  them,  never  drew  the  coverts  with  any  address  and 
spirit,  as  many  people  that  were  present  observed ;  and  this 
remark  the  event  has  proved  to  be  a  true  one.  For  as  a  per- 
son was  lately  pursuing  a  pheasant  that  was  wing-broken  in 
Harteley  Wood,  he  stumbled  upon  the  stag  by  accident,  and 
ran  in  upon  him  as  he  lay  concealed  amidst  a  thick  brake  of 
brambles  and  Bushes. — White. 


24 


354  WHITE 

OBSERVATIONS    ON    INSECTS   AND 

VERMES 

Insects  in  General.  — The  day  and  night  insects  occupy 
the  annuals  alternately ;  the  papilios,  muscae,  and  apes  are 
succeeded  at  the  close  of  day  by  phalaenae,  ear-wigs,  wood-lice, 
etc.  In  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  when  beetles  begin  to  buzz, 
partridges  begin  to  call ;  these  two  circumstances  are  exactly 
coincident. 

Ivy  is  the  last  flower  that  supports  the  hymenopterous  and 
dipterous  insects.  On  sunny  days  quite  on  to  November  they 
swarm  on  trees  covered  with  this  plant ;  and  when  they  dis- 
appear, probably  retire  under  the  shelter  of  its  leaves,  con- 
cealing themselves  between  its  fibres  and  the  trees  which  it 
entwines.^  —  White. 

This  I  have  often  observed,  having  seen  bees  and  other 
winged  insects  swarming  about  the  flowers  of  the  ivy,  very 
late  in  the  autumn.  —  Markwick. 

Spiders,  wood-lice,  lepismae  in  cupboards  and  among  sugar, 
some  empedes,  gnats,  flies  of  several  species,  some  phalaenae 
in  hedges,  earthworms,  etc.,  are  stirring  at  all  times  when 
winters  are  mild ;  and  are  of  great  service  to  those  soft-billed 
birds  that  never  leave  us. 

On  every  sunny  day  the  winter  through,  clouds  of  insects 
usually  called  gnats  (I  suppose  tipulae  and  empedes)  appear 
sporting  and  dancing  over  the  tops  of  the  evergreen  trees  in 
the  shrubbery,  and  striking  about  as  if  the  business  of  gen- 
eration was  still  going  on.  Hence  it  appears  that  these  dip- 
tera  (which  by  their  sizes  appear  to  be  of  different  species) 
are  not  subject  to  a  torpid  state  in  the  winter,  as  most  winged 
insects  are.  At  night,  and  in  frosty  weather,  and  when  it 
rains  and  blows,  they  seem  to  retire  into  those  trees.  They 
often  are  out  in  a  fog.  —  White. 

This  I  have  also  seen,  and  have  frequently  observed  swarms 
of  little  winged  insects  playing  up  and  down  in  the  air  in  the 
middle  of  winter,  even  when  the  ground  has  been  covered 
with  snow.  —  Markwick. 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   INSECTS   AND   VERMES  355 

Humming  in  the  Air.  —  There  is  a  natural  occurrence  to 
be  met  with  upon  the  highest  part  of  our  down  in  hot  summer 
days,  which  always  amuses  me  much,  without  giving  me  any 
satisfaction  with  respect  to  the  cause  of  it ;  and  that  is,  a  loud 
audible  humming  of  bees  in  the  air,  though  not  one  insect  is 
to  be  seen.  The  sound  is  to  be  heard  distinctly  the  whole 
common  through,  from  the  Money  Dells  to  Mr.  White's  avenue 
gate.  Any  person  would  suppose  that  a  large  swarm  of  bees 
was  in  motion,  and  playing  about  over  his  head.  This  noise 
was  heard  last  week,  on  June  28th. 

"  Resounds  the  living  surface  of  the  ground, 
Nor  undehghtful  is  the  ceaseless  hum 
To  him  who  muses  ...  at  noon. 

"  Thick  in  yon  stream  of  light  a  thousand  ways. 
Upward  and  downward,  thwarting  and  convolved. 
The  quivering  nations  sport."     Thomson's  Seasons. 

—  White. 

Chaffers.  —  Cock-chaffers  seldom  abound  oftener  than  once 
in  three  or  four  years ;  when  they  swarm,  they  deface  the 
trees  and  hedges.  Whole  woods  of  oaks  are  stripped  bare  by 
them. 

Chaffers  are  eaten  by  the  turkey,  the  rook,  and  the  house- 
sparrow. 

The  scarabcBus  sohtitialis  first  appears  about  June  26th : 
they  are  very  punctual  in  their  coming  out  every  year.  They 
are  a  small  species,  about  half  the  size  of  the  May-chaffer, 
and  are  known  in  some  parts  by  the  name  of  the  fern-chaffer. 
—  White. 

A  singular  circumstance  relative  to  the  cock-chaffer,  or,  as 
it  is  called  here,  the  May-bug,  scarabcEus  vielolojitha,  hap- 
pened this  year  (1800).  My  gardener,  in  digging  some 
ground,  found,  about  six  inches  under  the  surface,  two  of 
these  insects  alive  and  perfectly  formed,  so  early  as  the  24th 
March.  When  he  brought  them  to  me,  they  appeared  to  be 
as  perfect,  and  as  much  alive,  as  in  the  midst  of  summer, 
crawling  about  as  briskly  as  ever ;  yet  I  saw  no  more  of  this 
insect  till  the  22nd  May,  when  it  began  to  make  its  appear- 
ance.    How  comes  it,  that  though  it  was  perfectly  formed  so 


356  WHITE 

early  as  the  24th  March,  it  did  not  show  itself  above  ground 
till  nearly  two  months  afterwards  ?  —  Markwick. 

Ptinus  Pectinicornis.  —  Those  maggots  that  make  worm- 
holes  in  tables,  chairs,  bedposts,  etc.,  and  destroy  wooden  fur- 
niture, especially  where  there  is  any  sap,  are  the  larvae  of  the 
ptinus  pectinicornis.  This  insect,  it  is  probable,  deposits  its 
eggs  on  the  surface,  and  the  worms  eat  their  way  in. 

In  their  holes  they  turn  into  their  pupae  state,  and  so  come 
forth  winged  in  July ;  eating  their  way  through  the  valances 
or  curtains  of  a  bed,  or  any  other  furniture  that  happens  to 
obstruct  their  passage. 

They  seem  to  be  most  inclined  to  breed  in  beech :  hence 
beech  will  not  make  lasting  utensils  or  furniture.  If  their 
eggs  are  deposited  on  the  surface,  frequent  rubbing  will  pre- 
serve wooden  furniture.  —  White. 

Blatta  Orientalis  ;  Cockroach.  —  A  neighbor  com- 
plained that  her  house  was  overrun  with  a  kind  of  black 
beetle,  or,  as  she  expressed  herself,  with  a  kind  of  black  bob, 
which  swarmed  in  her  kitchen  when  they  got  up  in  a  morn^ 
ing  before  daybreak. 

Soon  after  this  account,  I  observed  an  unusual  insect  in 
one  of  my  dark  chimney-closets,  and  find  since,  that  in  the 
night,  they  swarm  also  in  my  kitchen.  On  examination  I 
soon  ascertained  the  species  to  be  the  blatta  orientalis  of 
Linnaeus,  and  the  blatta  molejidinaria  of  Mouffet.  The  male 
is  winged ;  the  female  is  not,  but  shows  somewhat  like  the 
rudiments  of  wings,  as  if  in  the  pupa  state. 

These  insects  belonged  originally  to  the  warmer  parts  of 
America,  and  were  conveyed  from  thence  by  shipping  to  the 
East  Indies ;  and  by  means  of  commerce  begin  to  prevail  in 
the  more  northern  parts  of  Europe,  as  Russia,  Sweden,  etc. 
How  long  they  have  abounded  in  England  I  cannot  say ;  but 
have  never  observed  them  in  my  house  till  lately. 

They  love  warmth,  and  haunt  chimney-closets  and  the  backs 
of  ovens.  Poda  says  that  these  and  house-crickets  will  not 
associate  together;  but  he  is  mistaken  in  that  assertion,  as 
Linnaeus  suspected  he  was.  They  are  altogether  night  insects, 
liicifngcB,  never  coming  forth  till  the  rooms  are  dark  and  still, 


OBSERVATIONS  ON   INSECTS   AND   VERMES  357 

and  escaping  away  nimbly  at  the  approach  of  a  candle.  Their 
antennae  are  remarkably  long,  slender,  and  flexile. 

October  1790.  After  the  servants  are  gone  to  bed,  the 
kitchen  hearth  swarms  with  young  crickets,  and  young  blattce 
moleiidinaricE  of  all  sizes,  from  the  most  minute  growth  to 
their  full  proportions.  They  seem  to  live  in  a  friendly  man- 
ner together,  and  not  to  prey  the  one  on  the  other. 

August  1792.  After  the  destruction  of  many  thousands  of 
blattcB  molcndinaricE,  we  find  that  at  intervals  a  fresh  detach- 
ment of  old  ones  arrives,  and  particularly  during  this  hot 
season ;  for  the  windows  being  left  open  in  the  evenings,  the 
males  come  flying  in  at  the  casements  from  the  neighboring 
houses,  which  swarm  with  them.  How  the  females,  that 
seem  to  have  no  perfect  wings  that  they  can  use,  can  contrive 
to  get  from  house  to  house,  does  not  so  readily  appear. 
These,  like  many  insects,  when  they  find  their  present  abodes 
overstocked,  have  powers  of  migrating  to  fresh  quarters. 
Since  the  blattcB  have  been  so  much  kept  under,  the  crickets 
have  greatly  increased  in  number. —  White. 

Gryllus  Domesticus  ;  House-cricket.  —  November. 
After  the  servants  are  gone  to  bed,  the  kitchen  hearth  swarms 
with  minute  crickets  not  so  large  as  fleas,  which  must  have 
been  lately  hatched.  So  that  these  domestic  insects,  cherished 
by  the  influence  of  a  constant  large  fire,  regard  not  the  season 
of  the  year,  but  produce  their  young  at  a  tim.e  when  their 
congeners  are  either  dead,  or  laid  up  for  the  winter,  to  pass 
away  the  uncomfortable  months  in  the  profoundest  slumbers 
and  a  state  of  torpidity. 

When  house-crickets  are  out  and  running  about  in  a  room 
in  the  night,  if  surprised  by  a  candle  they  give  two  or  three 
shrill  notes,  as  it  were  for  a  signal  to  their  fellows,  that  they 
may  escape  to  their  crannies  and  lurking  holes  to  avoid 
danger. —  White. 

Cimex  Linearis. —  August  12th,  1775.  Cimices  Imeares 
are  now  in  high  copulation  on  ponds  and  pools.  The  females, 
who  vastly  exceed  the  males  in  bulk,  dart  and  shoot  along  on 
the  surface  of  the  water  with  the  males  on  their  backs. 
When   a  female  chooses  to  be  disengaged,  she   rears,   and 


358         .  WHITE 

jumps,  and  plunges,  like  an  unruly  colt ;  the  lover  thus  dis- 
mounted, soon  finds  a  new  mate.  The  females,  as  fast  as 
their  curiosities  are  satisfied,  retire  to  another  part  of  the  lake, 
perhaps  to  deposit  their  foetus  in  quiet ;  hence  the  sexes  are 
found  separate,  except  where  generation  is  going  on.  From 
the  multitude  of  minute  young  of  all  gradations  of  sizes,  these 
insects  seem  without  doubt  to  be  viviparous. —  White, 

PhalvEna  Quercus. —  Most  of  our  oaks  are  naked  of 
leaves,  and  even  the  Holt  in  general,  having  been  ravaged  by 
the  caterpillars  of  a  small  phalasna  which  is  of  a  pale  yellow 
color.  These  insects,  though  a  feeble  race,  yet,  from  their 
infinite  numbers,  are  of  wonderful  effect,  being  able  to  destroy 
the  foHage  of  whole  forests  and  districts.  At  this  season  they 
leave  their  aurelia,  and  issue  forth  in  their  fly  state,  swarming 
and  covering  the  trees  and  hedges. 

In  a  field  at  Greatham,  I  saw  a  flight  of  swifts  busied  in 
catching  their  prey  near  the  ground ;  and  found  they  were 
hawking  after  these  phalaense.  The  aureliae  of  this  moth  is 
shining  and  as  black  as  jet ;  and  lies  wrapped  up  in  a  leaf  of 
the  tree,  which  is  rolled  round  it,  and  secured  at  the  ends  by 
a  web,  to  prevent  the  maggot  from  falling  out. —  White. 

I  suspect  that  the  insect  here  meant  is  not  the  pJialmia 
qiierciis,  but  the  phalcsna  viridata,  concerning  which  I  find 
the  following  note  in  my  "Naturalist's  Calendar"  for  the 
year  1785. 

About  this  time,  and  for  a  few  days  last  past,  I  observed 
the  leaves  of  almost  all  the  oak-trees  in  Denn  copse  to  be 
eaten  and  destroyed,  and,  on  examining  more  narrowly,  saw 
an  infinite  number  of  small,  beautiful,  pale  green  moths  flying 
about  the  trees;  the  leaves  of  which  that  were  not  quite 
destroyed  were  curled  up,  and  withinside  were  the  exuviae  or 
remains  of  the  chrysahs,  from  whence  I  suppose  the  moths 
had  issued,  and  whose  caterpillar  had  eaten  the  leaves.  — 
Markwick. 

Ephemera  Cauda  Biseta;  May-fly.  —  June  loth,  1771. 
Myriads  of  May-flies  appear  for  the  first  time  on  the  Aires- 
ford  stream.     The  air  was  crowded  with  them,  and  the  surface 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   INSECTS   AND   VERMES         359 

of  the  water  covered.  Large  trouts  sucked  them  in  as  they 
lay  struggling  on  the  surface  of  the  stream,  unable  to  rise  till 
their  wings  were  dried. 

This  appearance  reconciled  me  in  some  measure  to  the 
wonderful  account  that  Scopoli  gives  of  the  quantities  emerg- 
ing from  the  rivers  of  Carniola.  Their  motions  are  very 
peculiar,  up  and  down  for  many  yards  almost  in  a  perpendic- 
ular line.  —  White. 

I  once  saw  a  swarm  of  these  insects  playing  up  and  down 
over  the  surface  of  a  pond  in  Denn  Park,  exactly  in  the  man- 
ner described  by  this  accurate  naturalist.  It  was  late  in  the 
evening  of  a  warm  summer's  day  when  I  observed  them. — 
Markwick. 

Sphinx  Ocellata.  —  A  vast  insect  appears  after  it  is  dusk, 
flying  with  a  humming  noise,  and  inserting  its  tongue  into  the 
bloom  of  the  honey-suckle ;  it  scarcely  settles  upon  the  plants, 
but  feeds  on  the  wing  in  the  manner  of  humming-birds.  — 
White. 

I  have  frequently  seen  the  large  bee  moth,  sphinx  stellata- 
rum,  inserting  its  long  tongue  or  proboscis  into  the  centre  of 
flowers,  and  feeding  on  their  nectar,  without  settling  on  them, 
but  keeping  constantly  on  the  wing. —  Markwick. 

Wild  Bee. —  There  is  a  sort  of  wild  bee  frequenting  the 
garden-campion  for  the  sake  of  its  tomentum,  which  prob- 
ably it  turns  to  some  purpose  in  the  business  of  nidification. 
It  is  very  pleasant  to  see  with  what  address  it  strips  off  the 
pubes,  running  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  a  branch,  and 
shaving  it  bare  with  all  the  dexterity  of  a  hoop-shaver.  When 
it  has  got  a  vast  bundle,  almost  as  large  as  itself,  it  flies  away, 
holding  it  secure  between  its  chin  and  its  fore-legs. 

There  is  a  remarkable  hill  on  the  downs  near  Lewes  in 
Sussex,  known  by  the  name  of  Mount  Carburn,  which  over- 
looks that  town  and  affords  a  most  engaging  prospect  of  all 
the  country  round,  besides  several  views  of  the  sea.  On  the 
very  summit  of  this  exalted  promontory,  and  amidst  the 
trenches  of  its  Danish  camp,  there  haunts  a  species  of  wild 
bee,  making  its  nest  in  the  chalky  soil.     When  people  ap- 


36o  WHITE 

proach  the  place,  these  insects  begin  to  be  alarmed,  and,  with 
a  sharp  and  hostile  sound,  dash  and  strike  round  the  heads 
and  faces  of  intruders.  I  have  often  been  interrupted  myself 
while  contemplating  the  grandeur  of  the  scenery  around  me, 
and  have  thought  myself  in  danger  of  being  stung. —  White. 

Wasps. —  Wasps  abound  in  woody  wild  districts  far  from 
neighborhoods ;  they  feed  on  flowers,  and  catch  flies  and  cater- 
pillars to  carry  to  their  young.  Wasps  make  their  nests  with 
the  raspings  of  sound  timber ;  hornets,  with  what  they  gnaw 
from  decayed :  these  particles  of  wood  are  kneaded  up  with 
a  mixture  of  saliva  from  their  bodies  and  moulded  into  combs. 

When  there  is  no  fruit  in  the  gardens,  wasps  eat  flies,  and 
suck  the  honey  from  flowers,  from  ivy  blossoms  and  um- 
bellated  plants ;  they  carry  off  also  flesh  from  butchers* 
shambles. —  White. 

In  the  year  1775,  wasps  abounded  so  prodigiously  in  this 
neighborhood  that,  in  the  month  of  August,  no  less  than 
seven  or  eight  of  their  nests  were  ploughed  up  in  one  field : 
of  which  there  were  several  instances,  as  I  was  informed. 

In  the  spring,  about  the  beginning  of  April,  a  single  wasp 
is  sometimes  seen,  which  is  of  a  larger  size  than  usual ;  this 
I  imagine  is  the  queen,  or  female  wasp,  the  mother  of  the 
future  swarm. —  Markwick. 

CEsTRUs  CuRVicAUDA. —  This  insect  lays  its  nits  or  eggs  on 
horses'  legs,  flanks,  etc.,  each  on  a  single  hair.  The  maggots, 
when  hatched,  do  not  enter  the  horses'  skins,  but  fall  to  the 
ground.  It  seems  to  abound  most  in  moist  moorish  places, 
though  sometimes  seen  in  the  uplands. —  White. 

Nose-fly.  —  About  the  beginning  of  July  a  species  of  fly 
{imiscd)  obtains,  which  proves  very  tormenting  to  horses,  try- 
ing still  to  enter  their  nostrils  and  ears,  and  actually  laying 
their  eggs  in  the  latter  of  those  organs,  or  perhaps  in  both. 
When  these  abound,  horses  in  wood-land  districts  become  very 
impatient  at  their  work,  continually  tossing  their  heads,  and 
rubbing  their  noses  on  each  other,  regardless  of  the  driver,  so 
that  accidents  often  ensue.  In  the  heat  of  the  day,  men  are 
often  obliged  to  desist  from  ploughing.     Saddle-horses  are 


OBSERVATIONS  ON   INSECTS   AND   VERMES  361 

also  very  troublesome  at  such  seasons.     Country-people  call 
this  insect  the  nose-fly.  —  White. 

Is  not  this  insect  the  cestrus  nasalis  of  Linnaeus,  so  well 
described  by  Mr.  Clark  in  the  third  volume  of  the  "  Linnaean 
Transactions,"  under  the  name  of  cestriis  veterimis  ?  —  Mark- 
wick. 

Ichneumon  Fly.  —  I  saw  lately  a  small  ichneumon  fly 
attack  a  spider  much  larger  than  itself  on  a  grass-walk. 
When  the  spider  made  any  resistance,  the  ichneumon  applied 
her  tail  to  him  and  stung  him  with  great  vehemence,  so  that 
he  soon  became  dead  and  motionless.  The  ichneumon  then 
running  backward  drew  her  prey  very  nimbly  over  the  walk 
into  the  standing  grass.  This  spider  would  be  deposited  in 
some  hole  where  the  ichneumon  would  lay  some  eggs ;  and 
as  soon  as  the  eggs  were  hatched,  the  carcass  would  afford 
ready  food  for  the  maggots. 

Perhaps  some  eggs  might  be  injected  into  the  body  of  the 
spider,  in  the  act  of  stinging.  Some  ichneumons  deposit  their 
eerss  in  the  aurelia  of  moths  and  butterflies.  —  White. 


'&&" 


In  my  "Naturalist's  Calendar"  for  1795,  July  21st,  I  find 
the  following  note  :  — 

It  is  not  uncommon  for  some  of  the  species  of  ichneumon 
flies  to  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  chrysalis  of  a  butterfly  ;  some 
time  ago  I  put  two  of  the  chrysalises  of  a  butterfly  into  a  bo.x, 
and  covered  it  with  gauze,  to  discover  what  species  of  butter- 
fly they  would  produce;  but  instead  of  a  butterfly,  one  of  them 
produced  a  number  of  small  ichneumon  flies. 

There  are  many  instances  of  the  great  service  these  little 
insects  are  to  mankind  in  reducing  the  number  of  noxious 
insects,  by  depositing  their  eggs  in  the  soft  bodies  of  their 
larvae  ;  but  none  more  remarkable  than  that  of  the  ichneumon 
tipjil(2,  which  pierces  the  tender  bodies  and  deposits  its  eggs 
in  the  larva  of  the  tipiila  ti'itici,  an  insect  which,  when  it 
abounds  greatly,  is  very  prejudicial  to  the  grains  of  wheat. 
This  operation  I  have  frequently  seen  it  perform  with  wonder 
and  dehght.  —  Markwick. 


362  WHITE 

BoMBYLius  Medius. — The  bombylius  medius  is  much  about 
in  March  and  the  beginning  of  April,  and  soon  seems  to  retire. 
It  is  a  hairy  insect,  Hke  a  bumble-bee,  but  with  only  two  wings, 
and  a  long  straight  beak,  with  which  it  sucks  the  early  flowers. 
The  female  seems  to  lay  its  eggs  as  it  poises  on  its  wings,  by 
striking  its  tail  on  the  ground,  and  against  the  grass  that 
stands  in  its  way,  in  a  quick  manner,  for  several  times 
together.  —  White. 

I  have  often  seen  this  insect  fly  with  great  velocity,  stop  on 
a  sudden,  hang  in  the  air  in  a  stationary  position  for  some 
time,  and  then  fly  off  again ;  but  do  not  recollect  having  ever 
seen  it  strike  its  tail  against  the  ground,  or  any  other  sub- 
stance. —  Markwick. 

MusCjE  ;  Flies.  —  In  the  decline  of  the  year,  when  the 
mornings  and  evenings  become  chilly,  many  species  of  flies 
{itmsccB)  retire  into  houses,  and  swarm  in  the  windows. 

At  first  they  are  very  brisk  and  alert ;  but  as  they  grow 
more  torpid,  one  cannot  help  observing  that  they  move  with 
difficulty,  and  are  scarce  able  to  lift  their  legs,  which  seem 
as  if  glued  to  the  glass ;  and  by  degrees  many  do  actually 
stick  on  till  they  die  in  the  place. 

It  has  been  observed  that  divers  flies,  besides  their  sharp 
hooked  nails,  have  also  skinny  palms,  or  flaps  to  their  feet, 
whereby  they  are  enabled  to  stick  on  the  glass  and  other 
smooth  bodies,  and  to  walk  on  ceilings  with  their  backs  down- 
ward, by  means  of  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  on  those 
flaps ;  the  weight  of  which  they  easily  overcome  in  warm 
weather,  when  they  are  brisk  and  alert.  But  in  the  decline 
of  the  year,  this  resistance  becomes  too  mighty  for  their 
diminished  strength ;  and  we  see  flies  laboring  along,  and 
lugging  their  feet  in  windows  as  if  they  stuck  to  the  glass, 
and  it  is  with  the  utmost  difficulty  they  can  draw  one  foot 
after  another,  and  disengage  their  hollow  caps  from  the  slip- 
pery surface. 

Upon  the  same  principle  that  flies  stick  and  support  them- 
selves, do  boys,  by  way  of  play,  carry  heavy  weights  by  only 
a  piece  of  wet  leather  at  the  end  of  a  string  clapped  close  on 
the  surface  of  a  stone.  —  White. 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   INSECTS   AND   VERMES         363 

TiPUL^,  OR  Empedes.  —  May.  Millions  of  empedes  or 
tipidcB  come  forth  at  the  close  of  day,  and  swarm  to  such  a 
degree  as  to  fill  the  air.  At  this  juncture  they  sport  and  cop- 
ulate ;  as  it  grows  more  dark  they  retire.  All  day  they  hide 
in  the  hedges.  As  they  rise  in  a  cloud  they  appear  like 
smoke. 

I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  such  swarms,  except  in  the 
fens  of  the  Isle  of  Ely.  They  appear  most  over  grass  grounds. 
—  White. 

Aphides.  —  On  the  ist  August,  about  half  an  hour  after  three 
in  the  afternoon,  the  people  of  Selborne  were  surprised  by  a 
shower  of  aphides  which  fell  in  these  parts.  They  who  were 
walking  in  the  streets  at  that  time  found  themselves  covered 
with  these  insects,  which  settled  also  on  the  trees  and  gardens, 
and  blackened  all  the  vegetables  where  they  alighted.  These 
armies,  no  doubt,  were  then  in  a  state  of  emigration,  and  shift- 
ing their  quarters ;  and  might  perhaps  come  from  the  great 
hop-plantations  of  Kent  or  Sussex,  the  wind  being  that  day  at 
north.  They  were  observed  at  the  same  time  at  Farnham,  and 
all  along  the  vale  to  Alton.  —  White. 

Ants.  —  August  23rd.  Every  ant-hill  about  this  time  is  a 
strange  hurry  and  confusion;  and  all  the  winged  ants,  agitated 
by  some  violent  impulse,  are  leaving  their  homes,  and,  bent 
on  emigration,  swarm  by  myriads  in  the  air,  to  the  great  emolu- 
ment of  the  hirundines,  which  fare  luxuriously.  Those  that 
escape  the  swallows  return  no  more  to  their  nests,  but  looking 
out  for  fresh  settlements,  lay  a  foundation  for  future  colonies. 
All  the  females  at  this  time  are  pregnant;  the  males  that  escape 
being  eaten,  wander  away  and  die. 

October  2nd.  Flying-ants,  male  and  female,  usually  swarm 
and  migrate  on  hot  sunny  days  in  August  and  September:  but 
this  day  a  vast  emigration  took  place  in  my  garden,  and  myriads 
came  forth,  in  appearance  from  the  drain  which  goes  under 
the  fruit  wall,  filling  the  air  and  the  adjoining  trees  and  shrubs 
with  their  numbers.  The  females  were  full  of  eggs.  This 
late  swarming  is  probably  owing  to  the  backward  wet  season. 
The  day  following,  not  one  flying-ant  was  to  be  seen. 

Horse-ants  travel  home  to  their  nests  laden  with  flies  which 


364  WHITE 

they  have  caught,  and  the  aureliae  of  smaller  ants,  which  they 
seize  by  violence.  —  White. 

In  my  "Naturalist's  Calendar"  for  the  year  1777,  on  Sep- 
tember 6th,  I  find  the  following  note  to  the  article  Flying  Ants. 

I  saw  a  prodigious  swarm  of  these  ants  flying  about  the  top 
of  some  tall  elm-trees  (close  by  my  house) ;  some  were  continu- 
ally dropping  to  the  ground,  as  if  from  the  trees,  and  others 
rising  up  from  the  ground ;  many  of  them  were  joined  together 
in  copulation  ;  and  I  imagine  their  life  is  but  short,  for  as  soon 
as  produced  from  the  egg  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  they  propa- 
gate their  species,  and  soon  after  perish.  They  were  black, 
somewhat  like  the  small  black  ant,  and  had  four  wings.  I  saw 
also,  at  another  place,  a  large  sort,  which  were  yellowish.  On 
the  8th  September,  1785,  I  again  observed  the  same  circum- 
stance of  a  vast  number  of  these  insects  flying  near  the  tops 
of  the  elms  and  dropping  to  the  ground. 

On  the  2nd  March,  1777,  I  saw  great  numbers  of  ants  come 
out  of  the  ground.  —  Markwick. 

Glowworms.  —  By  observing  two  glowworms  which  were 
brought  from  the  field  to  the  bank  in  the  garden,  it  appeared 
to  us  that  these  little  creatures  put  our  their  lamps  between 
eleven  and  twelve,  and  shine  no  more  for  the  rest  of  the 
night. 

Little  glowworms,  attracted  by  the  light  of  the  candles, 
come  into  the  parlor.  —  White. 

Earthworms.  —  Earthworms  make  their  casts  most  in 
mild  weather,  about  March  and  April ;  they  do  not  lie  torpid 
in  winter,  but  come  forth  when  there  is  no  frost ;  they  travel 
about  in  rainy  nights,  as  appears  from  their  sinuous  tracks  on 
the  soft  muddy  soil,  perhaps  in  search  of  food. 

When  earthworms  lie  out  a-nights  on  the  turf,  though  they 
extend  their  bodies  a  great  way,  they  do  not  leave  their  holes, 
but  keep  the  ends  of  their  tails  fixed  therein,  so  that  on  the 
least  alarm  they  can  retire  with  precipitation  under  the  earth. 
Whatever  food  falls  within  their  reach  when  thus  extended, 
they  seem  to  be  content  with,  such  as  blades  of  grass,  straws, 
fallen  leaves,  the  ends  of  which  they  often  draw  into  their 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   INSECTS   AND   VERMES         365 

holes ;  even  in  copulation  their  hinder  parts  never  quit  their 
holes ;  so  that  no  two,  except  they  lie  within  reach  of  each 
other's  bodies,  can  have  any  commerce  of  that  kind ;  but  as 
every  individual  is  an  hermaphrodite,  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
meeting  with  a  mate,  as  would  be  the  case  were  they  of  dif- 
ferent sexes.  —  White. 

Snails  and  Slugs.  — The  shell-less  snails  called  slugs  are 
in  motion  all  the  winter  in  mild  weather,  and  commit  great 
depredations  on  garden  plants,  and  much  injure  the  green 
wheat,  the  loss  of  which  is  imputed  to  earthworms ;  while  the 
shelled  snail,  the  (^epeot/co?,  does  not  come  forth  at  all  till  about 
April  loth,  and  not  only  lays  itself  up  pretty  early  in  autumn, 
in  places  secure  from  frost,  but  also  throws  out  round  the 
mouth  of  its  shell  a  thick  operculum  formed  from  its  own 
saliva ;  so  that  it  is  perfectly  secured  and  corked  up,  as  it 
were,  from  all  inclemencies.  The  cause  why  the  slugs  are 
able  to  endure  the  cold  so  much  better  than  shell-snails  is, 
that  their  bodies  are  covered  with  slime,  as  whales  are  with 
blubber. 

Snails  copulate  about  midsummer ;  and  soon  after  deposit 
their  eggs  in  the  mould  by  running  their  heads  and  bodies 
under  ground.  Hence  the  way  to  be  rid  of  them  is  to  kill  as 
many  as  possible  before  they  begin  to  breed. 

Large,  gray,  shell-less  cellar-snails  lay  themselves  up  about 
the  same  time  with  those  that  live  abroad ;  hence  it  is  plain 
that  a  defect  of  warmth  is  not  the  only  cause  that  influences 
their  retreat.  — White. 

Snake's  Slough.  — 

.     .     .     "  There  the  snake  throws  her  enamelled  skin." 

—  Shakespeare's  Mids.  NighVs  Dream. 

About  the  middle  of  this  month  (September)  we  found  in  a 
field  near  a  hedge  the  slough  of  a  large  snake,  which  seemed 
to  have  been  newly  cast.  From  circumstances  it  appeared  as 
if  turned  wrong  side  outward,  and  as  drawn  off  backward,  like 
a  stocking  or  woman's  glove.  Not  only  the  whole  skin,  but 
scales  from  the  very  eyes  are  peeled  off,  and  appear  in  the 
head  of  the  slough  like  a  pair  of  spectacles.     The  reptile,  at 


366  WHITE 

the  time  of  changing  his  coat,  had  entangled  himself  intricately 
in  the  grass  and  weeds,  so  that  the  friction  of  the  stalks  and 
blades  might  promote  this  curious  shifting  of  his  exuviae. 

.     "  Lubrica  serpens 
Exuit  in  spinis  vestem."  —  Lucret. 

It  would  be  a  most  entertaining  sight  could  a  person  be  an 
eye-witness  to  such  a  feat,  and  see  the  snake  in  the  act  of 
changing  his  garment.  As  the  convexity  of  the  scales  of  the 
eyes  in  the  slough  is  now  inward,  that  circumstance  alone  is 
a  proof  that  the  skin  has  been  turned;  not  to  mention  that 
now  the  present  inside  is  much  darker  than  the  outer.  If  you 
look  through  the  scales  of  the  snake's  eyes  from  the  concave 
side,  viz.,  as  the  reptile  used  them,  they  lessen  objects  much. 
Thus  it  appears  from  what  has  been  said,  that  snakes  crawl 
out  of  the  mouth  of  their  own  sloughs,  and  quit  the  tail  part 
last,  just  as  eels  are  skinned  by  a  cook  maid.  While  the  scales 
of  the  eyes  are  growing  loose,  and  a  new  skin  is  forming,  the 
creature  in  appearance  must  be  blind,  and  feel  itself  in  an 
awkward,  uneasy  situation.  —  White. 

I  have  seen  many  sloughs  or  skins  of  snakes  entire,  after 
they  have  cast  them  off ;  and  once  in  particular  I  remember 
to  have  found  one  of  these  sloughs  so  intricately  interwoven 
amongst  some  brakes  that  it  was  with  difficulty  removed  with- 
out being  broken  ;  this  undoubtedly  was  done  by  the  creature 
to  assist  in  getting  rid  of  its  encumbrance. 

I  have  great  reason  to  suppose  that  the  eft,  or  common  lizard, 
also  casts  its  skin  or  slough,  but  not  entire  like  the  snake  ;  for 
on  the  30th  March,  1777,  I  saw  one  with  something  ragged 
hanging  to  it,  which  appeared  to  be  part  of  its  old  skin.  — 
Markwick, 

Note 

1  The  ivy  is  haunted  at  night  by  swarms  of  moths  and  other  insects.  I 
have  seen  an  ivy  bush,  on  a  warm  summer  night,  literally  moving  with  the 
number  of  moths  which  were  feeding  on  it.  The  eyes  of  the  larger  ones 
glowed  like  sparks  of  fire.  —  G.  C.  D. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  VEGETABLES        367 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  VEGETABLES 

Trees,  Order  of  losing  their  Leaves.  —  One  of  the 
first  trees  that  becomes  naked  is  the  walnut ;  the  mulberry, 
the  ash,  especially  if  it  bears  many  keys,  and  the  horse- 
chestnut  come  next.  All  lopped  trees,  while  their  heads  are 
young,  carry  their  leaves  a  long  while.  Apple-trees  and 
peaches  remain  green  very  late,  often  till  the  end  of  Novem- 
ber: young  beeches  never  cast  their  leaves  till  spring,  till 
the  new  leaves  sprout  and  push  them  off ;  in  the  autumn  the 
beechen  leaves  turn  of  a  deep  chestnut  color.  Tall  beeches 
cast  their  leaves  about  the  end  of  October.  — White. 

Size  and  Growth.  —  Mr.  Marsham  of  Stratton,  near  Nor- 
wich, informs  me  by  letter  thus  :  "  I  became  a  planter  early  ; 
so  that  an  oak  which  I  planted  in  1720  is  become  now,  at  one 
foot  from  the  earth,  twelve  feet  six  inches  in  circumference, 
and  at  fourteen  feet  (the  half  of  the  timber  length)  is  eight 
feet  two  inches.  So  if  the  bark  was  to  be  measured  as  timber, 
the  tree  gives  1 16|  feet,  buyer's  measure.  Perhaps  you  never 
heard  of  a  larger  oak  while  the  planter  was  living.  I  flatter 
myself  that  I  increased  the  growth  by  washing  the  stem,  and 
digging  a  circle  as  far  as  I  supposed  the  roots  to  extend,  and 
by  spreading  sawdust,  etc.,  as  related  in  the  "  Phil.  Trans."  I 
wish  I  had  begun  with  beeches  (my  favorite  trees  as  well  as 
yours);  I  might  then  have  seen  very  large  trees  of  my  own 
raising.  But  I  did  not  begin  with  beech  till  1741,  and  then  by 
seed ;  so  that  my  largest  is  now,  at  five  feet  from  the  ground, 
six  feet  three  inches  in  girth,  and  with  its  head  spreads  a  cir- 
cle of  twenty  yards'  diameter.  This  tree  was  also  dug  round, 
washed,  etc."  —  Stratton,  July  24th,  1790. 

The  circumference  of  trees  planted  by  myself,  at  one  foot 
from  the  ground  ( 1 790) :  — 

Oak  in  1 730 4  ft.  5  in. 

Ash  1730 4       6^ 

Great  fir  175 1 5       o 

Greatest  beech  1751 4       o 

Elm  1750 5        3 

Lime  1756 5        5 


368  WHITE 

The  great  oak  in  the  Holt,  which  is  deemed  by  Mr.  Marsham 
to  be  the  biggest  in  this  island,  at  seven  feet  from  the  ground, 
measures  in  circumference  thirty-four  feet.  It  has  in  old 
times  lost  several  of  its  boughs,  and  is  tending  to  decay. 
Mr.  Marsham  computes,  that  at  fourteen  feet  length  this  oak 
contains  looo  feet  of  timber. 

It  has  been  the  received  opinion  that  trees  grow  in  height 
only  by  their  annual  upper  shoot.  But  my  neighbor  over  the 
way,  whose  occupation  confines  him  to  one  spot,  assures  me 
that  trees  are  expanded  and  raised  in  the  lower  parts  also. 
The  reason  that  he  gives  is  this :  the  point  of  one  of  my  firs 
began  for  the  first  time  to  peep  over  an  opposite  roof  at  the 
beginning  of  summer;  but  before  the  growing  season  was 
over,  the  whole  shoot  of  the  year,  and  three  or  four  joints  of 
the  body  beside,  became  visible  to  him  as  he  sits  on  his  form 
in  his  shop.  According  to  this  supposition,  a  tree  may  ad- 
vance in  height  considerably,  though  the  summer  shoot  should 
be  destroyed  every  year.  —  White. 

Flowing  of  Sap.  —  If  the  bough  of  a  vine  is  cut  late  in 
the  spring,  just  before  the  shoots  push  out,  it  will  bleed  con- 
siderably ;  but  after  the  leaf  is  cut,  any  part  may  be  taken  off 
without  the  least  inconvenience.  So  oaks  may  be  barked 
while  the  leaf  is  budding ;  but  as  soon  as  they  are  expanded, 
the  bark  will  no  longer  part  from  the  wood,  because  the  sap 
that  lubricates  the  bark  and  makes  it  part,  is  evaporated  off 
through  the  leaves. — White. 

Renovation  of  Leaves.  —  When  oaks  are  quite  stripped 
of  their  leaves  by  chaffers,  they  are  clothed  again  soon  after 
midsummer  with  a  beautiful  foliage ;  but  beeches,  horse- 
chestnuts,  and  maples,  once  defaced  by  those  insects,  never 
recover  their  beauty  again  for  the  whole  season.  — White. 

Ash-Trees.  —  Many  ash-trees  bear  loads  of  keys  every 
year,  others  never  seem  to  bear  any  at  all.  The  prolific  ones 
are  naked  of  leaves  and  unsightly;  those  that  are  sterile 
abound  in  foliage,  and  carry  their  verdure  a  long  while,  and 
are  pleasing  objects.  —  White. 

Beech.  —  Beeches  love  to  grow  in  crowded  situations,  and 
will  insinuate  themselves  through  the  thickest  covert,  so  as  to 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  VEGETABLES        369 

surmount  it  all :  are  therefore  proper  to  mend  thin  places  in 
tall  hedges.  —  White. 

Sycamore. — May  12th.  The  sycamore  or  great  maple 
is  in  bloom,  and  at  this  season  makes  a  beautiful  appearance, 
and  affords  much  pabulum  for  bees,  smelling  strongly  like 
honey.  The  foliage  of  this  tree  is  very  fine  and  very  orna- 
mental to  outlets.  All  the  maples  have  saccharine  juices.  — 
White. 

Galls  of  Lombardy  Poplar.  —  The  stalks  and  ribs  of 
the  leaves  of  the  Lombardy  poplar  are  embossed  with  large 
tumors  of  an  oblong  shape,  which  by  incurious  observers 
have  been  taken  for  the  fruit  of  the  tree.  These  galls  are 
full  of  small  insects,  some  of  which  are  winged,  and  some 
not.  The  parent  insect  is  of  the  genus  of  cynips.  Some 
poplars  in  the  garden  are  quite  loaded  with  these  excres- 
cences. —  White. 

Chestnut  Timber.  —  John  Carpenter  brings  home  some  old 
chestnut-trees  which  are  very  long ;  in  several  places  the  wood- 
peckers had  begun  to  bore  them.  The  timber  and  bark  of 
these  trees  are  so  very  like  oak,  as  might  easily  deceive  an 
indifferent  observer,  but  the  wood  is  very  shaky,  and  towards 
the  heart  aip-shaky  (that  is  to  say,  apt  to  separate  in  round 
pieces  like  cups),  so  that  the  inward  parts  are  of  no  use. 
They  are  bought  for  the  purpose  of  cooperage,  but  must  make 
but  ordinary  barrels,  buckets,  etc.  Chestnut  sells  for  half  the 
price  of  oak ;  but  has  sometimes  been  sent  into  the  king's 
docks  and  passed  off  instead  of  oak.  —  White. 

Lime  Blossoms.  —  Dr.  Chandler  tells  that  in  the  south  of 
France  an  infusion  of  the  blossoms  of  the  lime-tree,  tilia,  is 
in  much  esteem  as  a  remedy  for  coughs,  hoarsenesses,  fevers, 
etc.,  and  that  at  Nismes  he  saw  an  avenue  of  limes  that  was 
quite  ravaged  and  torn  to  pieces  by  people  greedily  gathering 
the  bloom,  which  they  dried  and  kept  for  these  purposes. 

Upon  the  strength  of  this  information  we  made  some  tea  of 
lime  blossoms,  and  found  it  a  very  soft,  well-flavored,  pleas- 
ant, saccharine  julep,  in  taste  much  resembling  the  juice  of 
licorice,  —  White. 

25 


370  WHITE 

Blackthorn.  — This  tree  usually  blossoms  while  cold  north- 
east winds  blow ;  so  that  the  harsh  rugged  weather  obtaining 
at  this  season  is  called  by  the  country-people  blackthorn 
winter.  —  White. 

Ivy  Berries.  —  Ivy  berries  form  a  noble  and  providential 
supply  for  birds  in  winter  and  spring ;  for  the  first  severe  frost 
freezes  and  spoils  all  the  haws,  sometimes  by  the  middle  of 
November ;  ivy  berries  do  not  seem  to  freeze.  —  White. 

Hops. — The  culture  of  Virgil's  vines  corresponds  very 
exactly  with  the  modern  management  of  hops.  I  might  in- 
stance in  the  perpetual  diggings  and  hoeings,  in  the  tying  to 
the  stakes  and  poles,  in  pruning  the  superfluous  shoots,  etc., 
but  lately  I  have  observed  a  new  circumstance,  which  was 
a  neighboring  farmer's  harrowing  between  the  rows  of  hops 
with  a  small  triangular  harrow,  drawn  by  one  horse,  and 
guided  by  two  handles.  This  occurrence  brought  to  my 
mind  the  following  passage  :  — 

.  .  .  "ipsa 
Flectere  luctantes  inter  vineta  juvencos."  —  Georg. 

Hops  are  dioecious  plants ;  hence  perhaps  it  might  be  proper, 
though  not  practised,  to  leave  purposely  some  male  plants  in 
every  garden,  that  their  farina  might  impregnate  the  blossoms. 
The  female  plants  without  their  male  attendants  are  not  in 
their  natural  state :  hence  we  may  suppose  the  frequent  fail- 
ure of  crop  so  incident  to  hop  grounds ;  no  other  growth,  cul- 
tivated by  man,  has  such  frequent  and  general  failures  as  hops. 

Two  hop  gardens  much  injured  by  a  hail-storm,  June  5th, 
show  now  (September  2nd)  a  prodigious  crop,  and  larger  and 
fairer  hops  than  any  in  the  parish.  The  owners  seem  now  to 
be  convinced  that  the  hail,  by  beating  off  the  tops  of  the  binds, 
has  increased  the  side-shoots,  and  improved  the  crop.  Query. 
—  Therefore  should  not  the  tops  of  hops  be  pinched  off  when 
the  binds  are  very  gross  and  strong }  —  White. 

Seed  lying  Dormant. —  The  naked  part  of  the  Hanger 
is  now  covered  with  thistles  of  various  kinds.  The  seeds  of 
these  thistles  may  have  lain  probably  under  the  thick  shade 
of  the  beeches  for  many  years,  but  could  not  vegetate  till  the 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  VEGETABLES        37' 

sun  and  air  were  admitted.  When  old  beech-trees  are  cleared 
away,  the  naked  ground  in  a  year  or  two  becomes  covered 
with  strawberry  plants,  the  seeds  of  which  must  have  lain  in 
the  ground  for  an  age  at  least.  One  of  the  slidders  or  trenches 
down  the  middle  of  the  Hanger,  close  covered  over  with  lofty 
beeches  near  a  century  old,  is  still  called  "strawberry  slidder," 
though  no  strawberries  have  grown  there  in  the  memory  of 
man.  That  sort  of  fruit  did  once,  no  doubt,  abound  there, 
and  will  again  when  the  obstruction  is  removed.  —  White. 

Beans  sown  by  Birds.  —  Many  horse-beans  sprang  up  in 
my  field-walks  in  the  autumn,  and  are  now  grown  to  a  consid- 
erable height.  As  the  Ewel  was  in  beans  last  summer,  it  is 
most  likely  that  these  seeds  came  from  thence  ;  but  then  the 
distance  is  too  considerable  for  them  to  have  been  conveyed 
by  mice.  It  is  most  probable,  therefore,  that  they  were  brought 
by  birds,  and  in  particular  by  jays  and  pies,  who  seem  to  have 
hid  them  among  the  grass  and  moss,  and  then  to  have  forgotten 
where  they  had  stowed  them.  Some  peas  are  growing  also 
in  the  same  situation,  and  probably  under  the  same  circum- 
stances. —  White. 

Cucumbers  set  by  Bees.  —  If  bees,  who  are  much  the  best 
setters  of  cucumbers,  do  not  happen  to  take  kindly  to  the 
frames,  the  best  way  is  to  tempt  them  by  a  little  honey  put 
on  the  male  and  female  bloom.  When  they  are  once  induced 
to  haunt  the  frames,  they  set  all  the  fruit,  and  will  hover  with 
impatience  round  the  lights  in  a  morning  till  the  glasses  are 
opened.     Probatinn  est.  —  White. 

Wheat.  —  A  notion  has  always  obtained  that  in  England 
hot  summers  are  productive  of  fine  crops  of  wheat ;  yet  in  the 
years  1780  and  1781,  though  the  heat  was  intense,  the  wheat 
was  much  mildewed  and  the  crop  light.  Does  not  severe 
heat,  while  the  straw  is  milky,  occasion  its  juices  to  exude, 
which,  being  extravasated,  occasion  spots,  discolor  the  stems 
and  blades,  and  injure  the  health  of  the  plants  ?  — White. 

Truffles.  —  August.  A  truffle-hunter  called  on  us,  hav- 
ing in  his  pocket  several  large  truffles  found  in  this  neighbor- 
hood.    He  says  these  roots  are  not  to  be  found  in  deep  woods, 


372  WHITE 

but  in  narrow  hedgerows  and  the  skirts  of  coppices.  Some 
truffles,  he  informed  us,  lie  two  feet  within  the  earth,  and  some, 
quite  on  the  surface ;  the  latter,  he  added,  have  little  or  no 
smell,  and  are  not  so  easily  discovered  by  the  dogs  as  those 
that  lie  deeper.  Half  a  crown  a  pound  was  the  price  which 
he  asked  for  this  commodity.  Truffles  never  abound  in  wet 
winters  and  springs.  They  are  in  season,  in  different  situ- 
ations, at  least  nine  months  in  the  year.  —  White. 

Tremella  Nostoc.  — Though  the  weather  may  have  been 
ever  so  dry  and  burning,  yet  after  two  or  three  wet  days  this 
jelly-like  substance  abounds  on  the  walks.  — White. 

Fairy  Rings.  —  The  cause,  occasion,  call  it  what  you  will, 
of  fairy  rings,  subsists  in  the  turf,  and  is  conveyable  with  it :  ^ 
for  the  turf  of  my  garden-walks,  brought  from  the  down  above, 
abounds  with  those  appearances,  which  vary  their  shape  and 
shift  situation  continually,  discovering  themselves  now  in  circles, 
now  in  segments,  and  sometimes  in  irregular  patches  and  spots. 
Wherever  they  obtain,  puffballs  abound,  the  seeds  of  which 
were  doubtless  brought  in  the  turf.  —  White. 

Note 

^  Fairy  rings  are  caused  by  certain  fiingi  which  throw  their  seeds  out- 
wards, so  that  a  gradually  increasing  circle  is  formed  of  greener  and  brighter 
vegetation.  —  G.  C.  D. 


METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS 

Barometer.  —  November  22nd,  1768.  A  remarkable  fall 
of  the  barometer  all  over  the  kingdom.  At  Selborne  we  had 
no  wind,  and  not  much  rain ;  only  vast,  swagging,  rock-like 
clouds  appeared  at  a  distance.  —  White. 

Partial  Frost.  —  The  country-people,  who  are  abroad  in 
winter  mornings  long  before  sunrise,  talk  much  of  hard  frosts 
in  some  spots,  and  none  in  others.  The  reason  of  these  par- 
tial frosts  is  obvious,  for  there  are  at  such  times  partial  fogs 
about ;  where  the  fog  obtains,  little  or  no  frost  appears ;  but 


METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS  373 

where  the  air  is  clear,  there  it  freezes  hard.  So  the  frost 
takes  place  either  on  hill  or  in  dale,  wherever  the  air  happens 
to  be  clearest  and  freest  from  vapor.  —  White. 

Thaw.  —  Thaws  are  sometimes  surprisingly  quick,  consid- 
ering the  small  quantity  of  rain.  Does  not  the  warmth  at 
such  times  come  from  below .-'  The  cold  in  still  severe  sea- 
sons seems  to  come  down  from  above ;  for  the  coming  over 
of  a  cloud  in  severe  nights  raises  the  thermometer  abroad  at 
once  full  ten  degrees.  The  first  notices  of  thaws  often  seem 
to  appear  in  vaults,  cellars,  etc. 

If  a  frost  happens,  even  when  the  ground  is  considerably 
dry,  as  soon  as  a  thaw  takes  place,  the  paths  and  fields  are 
all  in  a  batter.  Country-people  say  that  the  frost  draws  moist- 
ure. But  the  true  philosophy  is,  that  the  steam  and  vapors 
continually  ascending  from  the  earth  are  bound  in  by  the 
frost,  and  not  suffered  to  escape  till  released  by  the  thaw. 
No  wonder  then  that  the  surface  is  all  in  a  float ;  since  the 
quantity  of  moisture  by  evaporation  that  arises  daily  from 
every  acre  of  ground  is  astonishing.  —  White. 

Frozen  Sleet. —  January  20th.  Mr.  H.'s  man  says  that 
he  caught  this  day  in  a  lane  near  Hackwood  Park  many  rooks, 
which,  attempting  to  fly,  fell  from  the  trees  with  their  wings 
frozen  together  by  the  sleet,  that  froze  as  it  fell.  There  were, 
he  affirms,  many  dozen  so  disabled.  — White. 

Mist,  called  London  Smoke. — This  is  a  blue  mist  which 
has  somewhat  the  smell  of  coal  smoke,  and  as  it  always  comes 
to  us  with  a  north-east  wind,  is  supposed  to  come  from  London. 
It  has  a  strong  smell,  and  is  supposed  to  occasion  blights. 
When  such  mists  appear  they  are  usually  followed  by  dry 
weather.  —  White. 

Reflection  of  Fog.  —  When  people  walk  in  a  deep  white 
fog  by  night  with  a  lantern,  if  they  will  turn  their  backs  to 
the  light,  they  will  see  their  shades  impressed  on  the  fog  in  rude 
gigantic  proportions.  This  phenomenon  seems  not  to  have 
been  attended  to,  but  implies  the  great  density  of  the  meteor 
at  that  juncture.  — White. 

Honey-dew. — June   4th,    1783.       Fast   honey-dews    this 


374  WHITE 

week.  The  reason  of  these  seems  to  be  that  in  hot  days  the 
effluvia  of  flowers  are  drawn  up  by  a  brisk  evaporation,  and 
then  in  the  night  fall  down  with  the  dews  with  which  they 
are  entangled. 

This  clammy  substance  is  very  grateful  to  bees,  who  gather 
it  with  great  assiduity,  but  it  is  injurious  to  the  trees  on  which 
it  happens  to  fall,  by  stopping  the  pores  of  the  leaves.  The 
greatest  quantity  falls  in  still  close  weather ;  because  winds 
disperse  it,  and  copious  dews  dilute  it,  and  prevent  its  ill  effects. 
It  falls  mostly  in  hazy  warm  weather.  —  White. 

Morning  Clouds.  —  After  a  bright  night  and  vast  dew, 
the  sky  usually  becomes  cloudy  by  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon,  and  clear  again  towards  the  decline  of  the 
day.  The  reason  seems  to  be  that  the  dew,  drawn  up  by 
evaporation,  occasions  the  clouds ;  which,  towards  evening, 
being  no  longer  rendered  buoyant  by  the  warmth  of  the  sun, 
melt  away,  and  fall  down  again  in  dews.  If  clouds  are  watched 
in  a  still  warm  evening,  they  will  be  seen  to  melt  away  and 
disappear.  —  White. 

Dripping  Weather  after  Drought.  —  No  one  that  has 
not  attended  to  such  matters,  and  taken  down  remarks,  can 
be  aware  how  much  ten  days'  dripping  weather  will  influence 
the  growth  of  grass  or  corn  after  a  severe  dry  season.  This 
present  summer,  1776,  yielded  a  remarkable  instance  :  for  till 
the  30th  May  the  fields  were  burnt  up  and  naked,  and  the 
barley  not  half  out  of  the  ground ;  but  now,  June  lOth,  there 
is  an  agreeable  prospect  of  plenty.  —  White. 

Aurora  Borealis.  —  November  ist,  1787.  The  north  au- 
rora made  a  particular  appearance,  forming  itself  into  a  broad, 
red,  fiery  belt,  which  extended  from  east  to  west  across  the 
welkin :  but  the  moon  rising  at  about  ten  o'clock  in  unclouded 
majesty,  in  the  east,  put  an  end  to  this  grand  but  awful 
meteorous  phenomenon. — White. 

Black  Spring,  1771.  —  Dr.  Johnson  says  that  "in  1771 
the  season  was  so  severe  in  the  island  of  Skye,  that  it  is  remem- 
bered by  the  name  of  the  'black  spring.'  The  snow,  which 
seldom  lies  at  all,  covered  the  ground  for  eight  weeks,  many 


METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS        375 

cattle  died,  and  those  that  survived  were  so  emaciated  that 
they  did  not  require  the  male  at  the  usual  season."  The  case 
was  just  the  same  with  us  here  in  the  south;  never  were  so 
many  barren  cows  known  as  in  the  spring  following  that  dread- 
ful period.     Whole  dairies  missed  being  in  calf  together. 

At  the  end  of  March  the  face  of  the  earth  was  naked  to  a 
surprising  degree.  Wheat  hardly  to  be  seen,  and  no  signs  of 
any  grass ;  turnips  all  gone,  and  sheep  in  a  starving  way.  All 
provisions  rising  in  price.  Farmers  cannot  sow  for  want  of 
rain.  —  White. 


ON   THE  DARK,   STILL,   DRY,  WARM   WEATHER 

OCCASIONALLY    HAPPENING    IN    THE    WINTER    MONTHS 

Th'  imprisoned  winds  slumber  within  their  caves 
Fast  bound :  the  fickle  vane,  emblem  of  change, 
Wavers  no  more,  long-settling  to  a  point. 

All  nature  nodding  seems  composed :  thick  steams 
From  land,  from  flood  up-drawn,  dimming  the  day, 
"  Like  a  dark  ceiling  stand  : "  slow  thro'  the  air 
Gossamer  floats,  or  stretched  from  blade  to  blade 
The  wavy  net-work  whitens  all  the  field. 

Pushed  by  the  weightier  atmosphere,  up  springs 
The  ponderous  Mercury,  from  scale  to  scale 
Mounting,  amidst  the  Torricellian  tube.^ 

While  high  in  air,  and  poised  upon  his  wings 
Unseen,  the  soft,  enamored  wood-lark  runs 
Thro'  all  his  maze  of  melody  ;  —  the  brake 
Loud  with  the  blackbird's  bolder  note  resounds. 

Soothed  by  the  genial  warmth,  the  cawing  rook 
Anticipates  the  spring,  selects  her  mate. 
Haunts  her  tall  nest-trees,  and  with  sedulous  care 
Repairs  her  wicker  eyry,  tempest  torn. 

The  ploughman  inly  smiles  to  see  upturn 
His  mellow  glebe,  best  pledge  of  future  crop : 


3/6  WHITE 

With  glee  the  gardener  eyes  his  smoking  beds : 
E'en  pining  sickness  feels  a  short  relief. 

The  happy  school-boy  brings  transported  forth 
His  long-forgotten  scourge,  and  giddy  gig : 
O'er  the  white  paths  he  whirls  the  rolling  hoop, 
Or  triumphs  in  the  dusty  fields  of  taw. 

Not  so  the  museful  sage  :  —  abroad  he  walks 
Contemplative,  if  haply  he  may  find 
What  cause  controls  the  tempest's  rage,  or  whence 
Amidst  the  savage  season  winter  smiles. 

For  days,  for  weeks,  prevails  the  placid  calm. 
At  length  some  drops  prelude  a  change :  the  sun 
With  ray  refracted  bursts  the  parting  gloom ; 
When  all  the  chequered  sky  is  one  bright  glare. 

Mutters  the  wind  at  eve :  th'  horizon  round 
With  angry  aspect  scowls  :  down  rush  the  showers, 
And  float  the  deluged  paths,  and  miry  fields. 

Note 
^  The  barometer.  —  G.  W. 


INDEX 


Affection  of  birds  for  young,  7,  124. 

Ants,  363. 

Aphides,  213,  316. 

Ash,  368.     See  also  Pollard-ash  and 

Shrew-ash. 
Auk,  83. 
Aurora  borealis,  374. 

Barn-owl,     See  Owl. 

Barometer,  372. 

Bat,  habit  of  feeding,  29,  65,  178  ;  size, 

79- 
Bean,  sown  by  birds,  371. 

Bean's  pond,  20. 

Beaufort,  Bishop,  290. 

Bees,  deafness  of,  182  ;  humming  of, 
355  ;  wild,  359;  set  cucumbers,  371. 

Birds,  celibacy  of,  70;  migration  of, 
115.  136.  331  ;  congregation  of,  121  ; 
flight  of,  191  ;  note  of,  193  ;  nests 
of,  217  ;  food  of,  331  ;  —  of  passage, 
smaller,  41  ;  summer,  95  ;  winter, 
97  ;  singing  — ,  night,  98  ;  summer, 
100  ;  spring,  100  ;  early  breeding  — , 
102  ;  soft-billed  — ,  33,  36.  72,  88  ; 
non-migratory  — ,  97  ;  long-billed 
— ,  107  ;  night-flying  — ,  223.  See 
also  under  names  of  species. 

Black  cap,  migration  of,  26 ;  song  of, 

87. 
Black  spring,  374. 
Blackthorn,  370. 
Blowfly.     See  Fly. 
Bombylius  medius,  362. 
Brimstone  lodge,  19. 
Bultinch,  38,  83. 


Bunting,  35. 
Bustard,  102. 

Butcher  bird,  food  of,  50  ;  variety  of, 
82. 

Canons  of  Selbome  priory,  283,  285. 

Carp,  86. 

Cat,  352. 

Chaffers,  355. 

Chaffinches,  34,  113. 

Chapel  field,  267. 

Chestnut  timber,  369. 

Chinese  dog,  221. 

Church,  of  Selborne,  245,  250  ;  —  yard, 

251. 
Cimex  linearis,  357. 
Clouds,  morning,  374. 
Cobweb,  155. 
Coccus  vitis  viniferse,  211. 
Cockroach,  356. 
Cock's  comb,  8. 
Coins,  241. 
Coot,  192. 

Comua  ammonis,  8. 
Crane,  flight  of,  192  ;  note  of,  193- 
Cricket,  field  — ,  200  ;  house  — ,  203, 

356  ;    mole  — ,  204. 
Crossbill,  28. 
Crow,  in  pairs,  82  ;  note  of,  193  ;  flight 

of,  191  ;  gray  — ,  see  Royston. 
Cuckoo,  nest   of,   104  ;   eggs  of,   105, 

107,  III  ;  note  of,  118  ;  anatomy  of, 

168. 
Cuckoo-pint,  39. 
Cucumbers,  371. 
Curlew,  65.    See  also  Stone-curlew. 


377 


378 


NATURAL   HISTORY  OF   SELBORNE 


Daw,   breeding   place,    52  ;   flight   of, 

191. 
Dogs,  221.     See  also  Chinese  Dog. 
Dove,  ring  — ,  food  of,  339.     See  also 

Pigeon. 
Dripping  weather  after  drought,  374. 
Duck,  note  of,  193 ;  wild  — ,  note  of, 

193- 

Eagle,  193. 
Echo,  180,  224. 
Elm,  6. 
Empedes,  363. 

Fair  of  Selbome,  326. 

Fairy-rings,  392. 

Falco,  28. 

Falcon,  peregrine,  219. 

Fallow  deer,  37. 

Fernchafer,  86. 

Fern-owl.     See  Goatsucker, 

Fieldfare,   breeding   of,   63 ;    roosting 

place    of,   66 ;    migration    of,    1 14 ; 

nidification  of,  114. 
Field  mouse.     See  Mouse. 
Fish  of  Selbome,  29.     See  also  under 

under  names  of  species. 
Flycatcher,  26,  87. 
Fly,  362  ;  blow  — ,  76  ;  ichneumon  — , 

361  ;   May  — ,  358  ;  nose  — ,  360  ; 

side  — ,  129  ;  turnip  — ,  77. 
Fog,  effect  of,  237  ;  reflection  of,  373. 
Food,  influence  of,  on  color,  38,  83. 
Fossils  of  Selbome,  8  ;  —  wood,  223. 
Freestone,  9. 

Frog,  breeding  of,  43  ;  growth  of,  44. 
Frost,  eff"ect  of,   107,  226,  232  ;  origin 

of,  228  ;  partial,  372. 

Geography  of  Selbome,  i. 
Geology  of  Selborne,  4. 
Glow-worm.     See  Worm. 
Goatsucker,  history  of,   55  ;   flight  of, 

192 ;  food  of,  79,  344  ;  anatomy  of, 

169  ;  note  of,  193. 


Goldfish,  213. 

Goose,  flight  of,  192  ;  note  of,  193. 
Grange,  the,  325. 
Grasshopper-lark,  84. 
Grasshopper  warbler,  26. 
Grossbeak,  28  ;  food  of,  351. 
Gurdon,  Adam,  264,  268. 

Hanger,   i. 

Harvest-bug,  76. 

Hawk,  note  of,  193  ;  sparrow — ,  habi- 
tat of,  85  ;  food  of,  91  ;  ringtail  — , 
169  ;  blue  — ,  see  Hen-barrier. 

Heat,  235. 

Hedge-hog,  66. 

Heliotrope,  196. 

Hellebore,  88^ 

Hen-harrier,  85,  34O. 

Heron,  191. 

Himantopus,  206. 

Hippoboscae  hirundinis,  I2g. 

Hirundo,  characteristics  of,  128  ;  mi- 
gration of,  153  ;  hyberna,  73  ;  mel- 
ba,  75.  See  also  Martin,  Swallow, 
and  Swift. 

Hog,  171. 

Holt,  the,  23. 

Honey-buzzard,  91. 

Honey-dew,  235,  373. 

Hoopoe,  28. 

Hops,  370. 

Horse,  353. 

House-martin.     See  Martin. 


Ichneumon-fly.     See  Fly. 
Insects,  354. 
Ivy-berries,  370. 

Jay,  191. 

Kestrel,  191. 
Kingfisher,  191. 
Kite,  191. 
Knights  Templars,  273. 


INDEX 


379 


Lakes  in  Wolmer  forest,  21. 
Land-rail,  337. 
Lanes,  geology  of,  1 1. 
Lapwing,  83. 
Lime-blossoms,  369. 
Linnet,  35. 
Lizard,  51,  54. 
Loach,  47. 
Loon,  341. 

Magpie,  191. 

Martin,  first  brood,  25  ;  house  — ,  mi- 
gration of,  29,  80,  209,  215  ;  young 
of,  73  ;  history  of,  129,  131 ;  Sand 
— ,  history  of,  143 ;  hybernation  of, 
347  ;  black  — ,  see  Swift. 

May-fly.     See  Fly. 

Missel-bird,  82. 

Missel-thrush,  154. 

Mist,  373. 

Moor-hen,  192. 

Moose,  68,  71. 

Mouse,  field  — ,  size  of,  31  ;  nest  of, 
31  ;  weight  of,  36 ;  hybernaculum 
of,  36,  126  :  food  of,  218. 

Nautilus,  9. 

Nidification,  154. 

Nightingale,  note  of,  84  ;  habitat   of, 

117. 
Norton  manor  house,  326. 
Nose-fly.     See  Fly. 
Nut-hatch,  note  of,  42  ;  food  of,  218. 

Oak,  6. 

CEstrus  curvicauda,  77,  360. 

Osprey,  82. 

Owl,  note  of,  118,  193  ;  flight  of,  191  ; 
barn  — ,  29  ;  brown  — ,  food  of,  29  ; 
note  of,  128  ;  fern  — ,  see  Goat- 
sucker;  white  — ,  126. 

Paradise  mede,  317. 
Parish  of  Selborne,  12. 
Parrot,  193. 


Partridge,  336. 

Peacock,  78. 

Peregrine-falcon.     See  Falcon. 

Pettichaps,  219. 

Phaloena  quercus,  308, 

Pheasant,  hybrid,  336. 

Pigeon,  drinking  of,  86  ;  flight  of,  191  ; 
note  of,  193  ;  wood  — ,  history  of, 
92,  1 18  ;  house  — ,  history  of,  92  ; 
origin  of,  93. 

Plants,  189. 

Plover,  stilt  — ,  206. 

Pollard-ash,  164. 

Poplar,  369. 

Population  of  Selborne,  12. 

Poultry,  334. 

Priors  of  Selborne,  method  of  choos- 
ing, 280,  290  ;  names  of,  280,  290, 
298,  300,  302,  304,  307,  308,  315, 

Priory  of  Selborne,  259 ;  grant  of,  262  ; 
grants  to,  268,  272,  275,  278  ;  and 
Knights  Templars,  274  ;  visitation 
of,  283,  295  ;  canons  of,  285  ;  Pope 
and,  293 ;  deserted,  310 ;  gift  of, 
to  college,  310;  release  of,  315; 
privileges  of,  319,  325,  326  ;  decay 
of,  323- 

Pulveratrices,  ill. 

Ptinus  pectini  cornis,  356. 

Rabbits,  352. 

Rag,  blue  — ,  10. 

Rainfall,  12,  224. 

Raven,  flight  of,  191  ;  note  of,  193. 

Redbreast,  85,  103. 

Redstart,  87. 

Ring-ousel,  rare,  50;  size  of,  50;  mi- 
gration of,  54,  63,  72,  81,  112;  late 
breeding  of,  58  ;  boldness  of,  81. 

Rook,  flight  of,  191  ;  note  of,  193  ; 
roosting  of,  223 ;  nest  of,  333  ; 
white  — ,  38. 

Royston,  118. 

Sand-martin.     See  Martin. 
Sandpiper,  49. 


38o 


NATURAL    HISTORY   OF   SELBORNE 


Sandstone,  lo. 

Scallops,  9. 

Sedge-bird,  61  ;  song  of,  83,  103. 

Seed,  dormant,  370. 

Sex-migration,  113. 

Sheep,  species  of,  135  ;  effect  of  shear- 
ing, 352. 

Shrew-ash,  164. 

Side-fly.     See  Fly. 

Silk-tail,  32. 

Skylark,  192. 

Sleet,  373. 

Snail,  365. 

Snake,  365. 

Snipe,  breeding  ground,  26  ;  note  of, 
42,  83  ;  flight  of,  191. 

Snow-fleck,  64. 

Sociability  of  animals,  172. 

Song,  incubation  and,  103. 

Sparrow,  house  — ,  85  ;  hedge  — ,  88  ; 
reed  — ,  109  ;  —  hawk,  see  Hawk. 

Sphinx  ocellata,  359. 

Squirrel,  218. 

Squnck,  62. 

Starling,  192. 

Stock-dove.     See  Wood  Pigeon. 

Stone-curlew,  history  of,  39 ;  breed- 
ing place  of,  75  ;  note  of,  223  ;  mi- 
gration of,  343. 

Swallow,  hybernation  of,  25,  123  ;  his- 
tory of,  123,  137,  192  ;  note  of,  193  ; 
roosting  place  of,  33  ;  migration  of, 
57,  61,  65,  70,  80,  82,  108,  116,  138, 
176,  349  ;  sex  of,  83. 

Swan,  84. 

Swift,  hybernation  of,  25  ;  history  of, 
147,  192,  210  ;  late  appearance  of, 
29,  210  ;  migration  of,  65  ;  drinks 
on  wing,  83  ;  pairing  of,  185. 

Sycamore,  369. 

Temple,  manor  house  of,  267  ;  holding 

of,  326. 
Thaw,  origin  of,  228,  373. 
Thrush,  39,  333. 
Thunderstorm,  238. 


Titlark,  song  of,  82,  104  ;  breeding  of, 

103. 
Titmouse,  song  of,  86  ;  history  of,  89  ; 

species,  89. 
Toad,  breeding  of,  43  ;  venom  of,  43  ; 

cancer  cure,  47. 
Tortoise,  hybernation  of,  113, 137,  208  ; 

history  of,  327. 
Trees,  distillation   of  water  by,   166 ; 

losing  leaves,  367  ;  size  of,  367  ;  sap 

of,  368  ;    renovation    of  leaves   of, 

368. 
Tremella  nostoc,  372. 
Truffles,  371. 
Tunbridge,  318. 
Turkey,  193. 
Turnip-fly.     See  Fly. 

Vicarage  of  Selbome,  254  ;  house  of, 

252  ;  revenue  of,  255. 
Vicars  of  Selborne,  255. 
Viper,  antidote  for,  45. 

Wagtails,  non-migratory,  35  ;  food  of, 

350. 
Waldon  lodge,  ig. 
Wasps,  235,  360. 
Water-newt,  44 ;   absence  of  gills  of, 

48. 
Water-rat,  26  ;  hybemaculum  of,  65. 
Waynflete,  Bishop,  295. 
Weasel,  85. 
Whaddon  chapel,  318. 
Wheat,  371. 
Wheat-ear,  35,  83,  136. 
Whinchat,  83. 
Whitethroat,  history  of,  83  ;   flight  of, 

193- 

Willow-wren,  species  of,  40,  49 ;  his- 
tory of,  41,  344. 

Wren,  86,  103. 

Wolmer  forest,  description  of,  14 ; 
limits  of,  20 ;  lakes  in,  21 ;  grant 
of,  23,  269  ;  soil  of,  23  ;  —  pond, 
22. 

Woodlark,  61,  192. 


INDEX 


381 


Woodcock,    transportation   of   young, 

73  ;  migration  of,  74,  114,  117. 
Woodpecker,  flight  of,  191  ;  note  of, 

193- 
Worm,   blind  — ,  45  ;   earth  — ,   174, 
364  ;  glow  — ,  60,  364. 


Wryneck,  351. 

Wykeham,  Bishop,  visit  of,  282  ;  gifts 
of,  289. 

Yew,   Selborne    — ,   252;     poisonous, 
253. 


THE    END 


